Early career pathways and mismatch of graduates in Belgium and across Europe

The research note explores the mismatch between educational qualifications and job outcomes, introducing a novel mismatch indicator, the linkage score, which can be considered a significant innovation to the mismatch literature. The novel indicator is applied to Belgium, as a case study, and 18 European countries, using Belgian LFS panel data and harmonised EU LFS cross-sectional data. This research highlights significant variations in linkage strength across different educational qualifications, with the highest linkage scores observed for regulated professions. Diplomas sorting for specific jobs, e.g., law, veterinary or teaching, produce higher linkage scores than diplomas broadly deployable across jobs and sectors. Cross-country differences in absolute linkage scores are observed and are rooted in structural and institutional characteristics. The study also examines job mobility. Results indicate that job mobility does not improve one's linkage strength or quality of the education-job match, particularly among women.