Over-education has become increasingly common in developed cities and regions, which may hinder career development and accelerate an outflow of domestic talent, professionals and industry analysts said.

"The average occurrence of over-education is now significantly higher than in some developed economies, such as the United States and some European countries, in spite of overall insufficient education nationwide," said Lai Desheng, dean of Beijing Normal University's School of Economics and Business Administration.

Over-education means someone's education level is above what his or her occupation requires.