Accounting for qualification in mismatch unemployment

This paper shows the evolution of mismatch unemployment over the period from 2007 to 2022 in Germany. A substantial part of mismatch unemployment results from a misallocation on the qualification level rather than on the occupational level. Taking the qualification level into account, an upward trend in mismatch unemployment in the aftermath of the COVID-Crisis emerges that raises the share of mismatch unemployment in total unemployment about 3 percentage points in comparison the pre-COVID level. Furthermore, I can show that the COVID-Crisis had a different impact on the occupation-qualification level than the Global Financial Crisis. In a nutshell, the COVID-crisis hit especially the labor market for unskilled and semi-skilled workers.