A New Study Says 4 in 10 Young Ecuadorians Are Overqualified for Their Jobs

A university degree is not translating neatly into career-level work for many young Ecuadorians.

A new academic article says labor overqualification in Ecuador rose from about 24% in 2007 to around 40% in 2024.

What The Study Looked At

The article, “Surplus degrees, scarce opportunities: profiling overqualification in Ecuador,” was published in Education Economics.

The research was developed by Viviana Carriel, Rodrigo Mendieta and César Mendoza, using microdata from ENEMDU, Ecuador's national employment, unemployment and underemployment survey, for 2022-2024.

Mendieta, rector of the University of Cuenca, explains overqualification as the situation where university-trained professionals end up in roles that could be performed by people with technical, technological or even non-university training.

The Numbers

University graduates have 10.3 percentage points more probability of being overqualified than people with technical or technological training.

The study also identifies a gender gap: young women register 6.3 percentage points more probability of overqualification.

By field of study, Social Sciences shows the highest incidence of overqualification, while Engineering and Medicine show lower levels.

The phenomenon is concentrated in microenterprises in agriculture, commerce, transport, recreation and services, especially units with one to 10 workers.

The Cuenca Link

Several of the voices in the discussion are local.

Rodrigo Mendieta is rector of the University of Cuenca, and Viviana Carriel directs the Economics program at the Catholic University of Cuenca.

Mendieta said the issue is connected to Ecuador's labor-market structure, which has high informality and a smaller supply of qualified formal jobs.

He also said the public sector does not quickly adjust its hiring mechanisms to new professional profiles.

According to University of Cuenca follow-up data, about 23% of students enter work directly related to their career within the first six months.

Why Expats Should Care

If you employ people, run a small business, hire contractors or have kids studying here, this matters.

Ecuador has educated young professionals who may be working below their training level. That can be frustrating for them, but it can also be an opportunity for serious employers who know how to build roles around skills instead of just titles.

It is also a reminder that “has a degree” and “has the right job market opening” are not the same thing here.