5 key international hiring tendencies to look at
The pandemic-induced shift to remote work made it clear {that a} distributed workforce could possibly be efficient and viable. Within the years since then, cross-border hiring has continued to flourish as a consequence of persistent expertise shortages, significantly within the tech sector. Korn Ferry estimated in 2018 that unfilled roles will end in $8.5 trillion in misplaced income by 2030, whereas Gartner and McKinsey report that the expertise crunch is limiting progress in high-tech fields like AI, quantum applied sciences, cloud computing, and extra.
To satisfy these challenges, firms are more and more open to hiring remote talent. Analysis from Gartner reveals that cross-border hiring for tech roles doubled from 2020 to 2023, and as of 2022, 58% of organizations employed tech expertise working remotely from different international locations.
So, what’s the state of world hiring right now? The place are firms hiring expertise? What roles are they hiring for? What does compensation seem like throughout roles and areas? To search out out, Oyster, a world employment platform, analyzed the info from its platform, with specific consideration to new hires made within the final calendar yr. In addition they surveyed greater than 500 HR professionals in North America and Europe to study their causes for hiring internationally.
The total findings can be found in Oyster’s 2025 Global Hiring Trends and Impact Report: prime hiring locations, in-demand job households and roles, shifting employment fashions, compensation insights, and extra.
Listed here are 5 key international employment insights distilled from the platform information and survey outcomes.
Europe is the highest area for international distant hiring
The place on the earth have been firms hiring essentially the most? It seems Europe is the best choice for international employers. Oyster discovered that 43% of latest hires made via its platform in 2024 have been positioned in Europe, with Asia (inclusive of the Center East) and North America following at 24% and 20%, respectively.
Drilling all the way down to the nation degree, the most well-liked talent markets have been the Philippines (9%), the USA (8%), India (7%), Canada (6%), and the UK (6%). Taken collectively, these 5 international locations accounted for over a 3rd of latest hires on the platform in 2024.
Expertise, gross sales, and advertising are most in demand
Sure sorts of roles are extra appropriate for distant work than others, in order that they’re simpler to fill via cross-border hiring. Based on the World Economic Forum, the variety of international digital jobs will improve by 25% to over 90 million by 2030. And in Oyster’s latest survey, 57% of HR professionals indicated that their group intends to hire talent in another country inside the subsequent yr, with entry to a bigger expertise pool being their prime motive for wanting past borders.
So, what sorts of roles are firms filling with distant, international expertise? To reply this query, Oyster checked out all lively staff members on the platform to see what areas are most supported by worldwide expertise. The highest three job households for distant expertise are:
- Info know-how: 35%
- Gross sales and advertising: 12%
- Workplace and administrative help: 6%
Why are these the highest job classes for recruiting globally? IT roles are naturally remote-friendly, with excessive international demand and moveable abilities that permit expertise ‘plug in’ from anyplace. Gross sales and advertising hires typically align with international growth—bringing in native specialists who perceive regional nuances. Admin and help roles have lengthy been outsourced to increase protection throughout time zones, making certain round the clock help through roles like assistants, customer support, and operational help.
The highest roles employed on the platform are carefully aligned with the above job households. Essentially the most often employed position is software program engineer, accounting for 18% of latest hires in 2024. Different fashionable roles embody advertising coordinator, customer support consultant, information analyst, and account supervisor.
Expertise, gross sales, and advertising are most in demand
Historically, being employed meant having a full-time job working 9 to five. However as with distant and hybrid work, conventional work norms have been disrupted by the gig financial system—the rise in freelancing, contracting, fractional work, consulting, and extra. Based on McKinsey, these “do-it-yourselfers” worth autonomy, flexibility, and significant work.
How does this present up in international hiring? Taking a look at full-time versus contractor roles, there was a 46% improve in new contractor engagements from 2023 to 2024 on the Oyster platform, whereas the variety of new full-time hires decreased barely by 2%. This means that contractors are more and more in demand as firms search for versatile and scalable options for his or her workforce wants.
A associated microtrend is a pointy rise in consulting hires, which grew 10 occasions from 2023 to 2024. Taken collectively, the rise in contract and consulting work signifies an rising reliance on fractional, part-time, project-based, or basic consulting companies. For employers, this could possibly be a method to fill short-term expertise wants rapidly and stay agile, or to mitigate tighter expertise budgets.
Median international compensation rises by 4% yr over yr
We’ve checked out the place firms are hiring international expertise, however what does compensation seem like throughout borders?
How firms reward folks varies throughout areas and roles, and a sturdy global compensation strategy wants to contemplate native compliance necessities, market information, worker expectations, and extra.
Whereas wage information all the time must be contextualized, Oyster regarded on the compensation information on the platform to uncover the median wage general in addition to for essentially the most often employed roles. For the needs of this report, the wage information has been standardized by changing to U.S. {dollars}.
In 2024, the median wage for brand spanking new hires was $74,700, which represents a 4% improve from 2023. For essentially the most in-demand roles, the median salaries have been:
- Account supervisor: $89,295
- Software program engineer: $84,786
- Advertising coordinator: $82,115
- Customer support consultant: $51,719
- Knowledge analyst: $39,094
Remember the fact that total compensation goes past salaries. Along with competitive benefits, research from McKinsey reveals that staff search workplaces that provide flexibility, significant work, and help for health and well-being.
Confidence hiring in rising markets grows
In 2024, the gross fee quantity to emerging economies through Oyster was over $137 million, a 29% improve over 2023. As this metric will increase yr over yr, it helps uplift international information staff together with their households and communities.
In 2024, 47% of latest hires on the platform have been positioned in rising economies, which is 3 proportion factors increased than 2023. Corporations are additionally turning into extra assured in hiring expertise in these areas and constructing geographically numerous groups. Whereas simply 37% of firms’ first worldwide hires on Oyster are based mostly in rising markets, that quantity rises to 48% for subsequent hires—an 11-point improve. In different phrases, as soon as employers start hiring in rising markets, they’re extra more likely to proceed in search of expertise in these markets, gaining confidence and shifting previous any preliminary uncertainty.
This story was produced by Oyster and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
