High share of overqualified workers, ICT sector thrives

Cyprus emerges prominently in recently released Eurostat data, both as a country with a high proportion of overqualified workers, and as a leader in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector.

According to Eurostat, employment in Europe reached an all-time high in 2023, according to the Eurostat, setting a 15-year record, as more than 75 per cent of people aged 20 to 64 in the EU, accounting for 195.3 million people, have joined the labour market.

The figure stands at 75.4 per cent, the highest since Eurostat started recording data in 2009.

At the same time, the results mark three years of continuous growth after a drop to 72 per cent in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The highest employment rates were in the Netherlands (84 per cent), Sweden (83 per cent) and Estonia (82 per cent), meanwhile, the lowest rates were recorded in Italy (66 per cent), Greece (67 per cent) and Romania (69 per cent).

Interestingly, Cyprus ranks 13th with the highest employment rate among 28 countries (27 member states and Iceland) with a rate of 78.9 per cent, above the EU average of 75.3 per cent.

Moreover, the proportion of workers who are more qualified than their job requires in the EU is 22 per cent, with 21 per cent for men and 23 per cent for women.

Over-qualification is defined as when people with higher education are employed in jobs that do not require such a high level of education.

Specifically, the percentage of “overqualified” workers was highest in Spain (36 per cent), Greece (31 per cent), and Cyprus (30 per cent).

Conversely, the lowest percentage was recorded in Luxembourg (5 per cent), Denmark, and the Czech Republic (13 per cent each).

It is noteworthy that in 18 out of 27 EU countries, women had higher rates of over-skilling than men, with the largest differences recorded in Malta and Slovakia (both +8 per cent) and Italy (+7 per cent).

On the other hand, in 9 EU countries, men had higher rates of over-skilling, with the largest differences recorded in Lithuania (+5 per cent), Latvia (+4 per cent), and Bulgaria (+3 per cent).

However, there is a significant gap between male and female employment rates. While the employment rate for men in the EU was 80.5 per cent, the employment rate for women in the EU was 70.2 per cent, resulting in a gender employment gap of 10.3 per cent.

The countries with the largest gender employment gaps include Poland, the Czech Republic, Malta, Romania, Italy, the Czech Republic, Malta, Romania, and Greece. Greece notably takes the negative lead with 19.8 per cent, followed by Italy with 19.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the European Union’s statistical office also noted that Cyprus is among the top countries in Europe in terms of the gross value added by the provision of services in the information and communication technology sector.

According to Eurostat, Cyprus ranks second in the provision of ICT services in the European Union, with its share of gross value added reaching 8.9 per cent.

Cyprus is just behind Malta, which holds 9.4 per cent, while Bulgaria occupies the third place with 7.3 per cent.

Eurostat substantiates what the Statistical Office has been noting since January when it ranked the Information and Communication Technology sector as the champion of the last decade’s growth in Cyprus, highlighting the momentum gained by the sector as the driving force behind Cyprus’ GDP.