Skills imbalances refer to a discrepancy between the demand and supply of skills in the labour market, in other words a situation in which the skills sought by employers are different from the skills offered by workers in general, or by job-seekers in particular. Skills imbalances can be vertical, when the level of skills or education is more or less than the level of skills or education required to perform a job. They can also be horizontal when the type of education or skills is not appropriate for the current job, but the level of education or skills matches the requirements of the job. The mismatches can be geographical as well, where the workers with types and levels of skills or education required are based in a country or region different from where such skills are needed. Due to technological and organisational changes, skills imbalances are likely to increase. If they persist, skills imbalances can lead to short- and long-term economic and social losses for workers, employers and society. With this in mind, understanding the extent of skills imbalances is thus crucial for assessing how effective skills policies are in terms of aligning the demand with the supply of skills and for improving the labour market outcomes of different skills groups. This Review covers skills imbalances in 19 EU Member States (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden). The country reports include very detailed information on sources of labour market intelligence, skills imbalances and policies to address them, so readers interested in the full nuances of those descriptions are referred to the country reports.

链接地址：http://dx.doi.org/10.2767/183918