Measurement model of the construct "underemployment" in young workers in Spain

Underemployment phenomenon persists and it is accentuated among young people in countries with high levels of unemployment and high levels of education and qualifications, as Spain. In underemployment literature a variety of conceptualizations can be found. This paper using the person-job fit theory empirically analyzed the relationships among Feldmans underemployment dimensions. A grouping of these dimensions into two types of mismatch was formulated: intrinsic work aspects (education and skills) and extrinsic aspects (type of working day, type of contract and salary). Through confirmatory factor analysis with data from 1,067 young workers in Spain, the proposed two-factor model was found to fit better than the one-factor model. The main implications of these results for underemployment conceptualization, assessment and analysis are discussed.