5 Insights We Learned From 1,000+ Companies Hiring Global Talent

Welcome to RemoLabs! This content is part of the RemoFirst research reports series that takes a look at data and third-party market research in global hiring, remote work, and the future of work. Our findings are a combination of anonymized customer hiring trends and data, surveys, polls, and other expert insights.

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Since 2021, RemoFirst has been working with thousands of businesses all over the world. From solo business owners to global enterprise companies.

And over these years we’ve observed various hiring trends, new talent growth in various countries, and employment laws and regulations change (or be newly introduced).

However, we noticed that 2024 in particular was a big year for global hiring. We saw some of the strongest expansion of companies going beyond their local borders to find the BEST talent possible.

And as we looked through the data, talked to customers, and looked at the global hiring market as a whole we spotted five interesting insights.

I hope you’ll use these takeaways to help you make more strategic hires into the new year and beyond. Let’s dive in!

1. Labor Shortages for Skilled Talent is Still a Massive Challenge

Seventy-four percent of employers say they are struggling to find the skilled talent they need. And it’s hitting all industries and countries around the world in different ways.

A Korn Ferry study found that by 2030 there will be a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people, or roughly equivalent to the population of Germany. Left unchecked, that 2030 talent shortage could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues.

Many workforce shortages stem from demographic shifts. As Korn Ferry also highlights, countries like Japan and several European nations have faced declining birth rates for decades, leading to fewer workers entering the job market. Meanwhile, in the United States, the continued retirement of baby boomers will leave behind a significant skills gap by 2030, and younger generations may lack the necessary training and experience to fill high-skilled roles.

“According to our surveys, CEOs around the world cite labor shortages and attracting/retaining talent among the most pressing challenges keeping them up at night,” said Dana M. Peterson, Chief Economist of The Conference Board.

Companies are weighing various options to solve the labor shortage problem they face. And it entails a multi-step approach to solve.

Exploring other global markets to find top talent.
Investing in upskilling, reskilling, and more education for employees.
Increasing wages and providing other attractive employee benefits.
Offering more work and location flexibility, like remote or hybrid.

2. Micro-hubs are the “Hidden Gems” for Talent

Micro-hubs are the areas around the world with a wealth of talent that are often overlooked by companies when hiring. We typically call these the "hidden gems" at RemoFirst.

That's because when a company decides to hire or expand internationally, there are a few countries that are often top of mind for filling specific roles.

Two quick examples:

Looking for talent in IT? You'd probably consider India first.
Looking for talent in customer success? You'd probably pick the Philippines.

These common locations for specific job fields or industries have been ingrained in businesses minds for years. And while the common locations can still be great places to find talent, you can’t neglect opening your talent pool beyond them either.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic the world has opened up more than ever. This has created a unique opportunity for companies to bring more talent, diversity, and innovation to their business.

Thanks to investments by more countries into education, their economies, and technology (like faster internet speeds) there are so many opportunities to find talent in countries you may not previously have had on your radar.

We wrote many articles about these “hidden gems” that are worth taking a look at. These guides cover more about the country, what key talent you may find there, and why these locations could help you fill a skills gap.

Few examples:

3. EMEA is a Booming Region for Companies Seeking Talent

In research we conducted outside our own data, there were mixed opinions or results about global expansion and hiring in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

Our external research found that companies were either slowing down their hiring efforts in EMEA or focusing more on other regions. However, six of the top 10 countries where our customers were hiring talent were located in the EMEA region.

From what we have gathered, EMEA shows no signs of slowing down. And it makes sense to us as the region offers a strong blend of skilled professionals, multilingual capabilities, and regulatory expertise.

Here are a few of the top reasons to keep your talent sights on EMEA:

Strong professional development: European education systems emphasize continuous learning and professional development, resulting in highly skilled and adaptable workers. Countries like Estonia, Switzerland, Ireland, United Kingdom, Finland, and Germany rank very high.

Emphasis on digital skills: European countries have invested heavily in digital education and infrastructure, creating a deep pool of tech-savvy professionals. For example, Germany has a big startup scene.

Language capabilities: Many EMEA professionals are multilingual, offering valuable skills for global companies.

Regulatory familiarity: Talent from EMEA typically has experience working within strict labor laws and regulatory frameworks (like GDPR), valuable for companies operating in regulated industries.

4. Small to Scaling Businesses Saw the Biggest Expansion of Global Talent

For years, expanding the talent pool to other global markets could be very costly and tricky to navigate. Your previous options were either:

Spend thousands of dollars ($20k - $150k+) opening and maintaining local entities to hire compliantly.
Navigate confusing labor and tax laws, wasting hours of time and hopefully not making any legal mistakes. Which could lead to hefty fines.
Hire legal, tax, and HR teams or consultants to help you manage compliance. Also can be costly and time consuming.

But with Employer of Record (EOR) providers like RemoFirst, the barriers to finding the best talent no matter where someone lives is easier than ever. And it’s more affordable.

RemoFirst’s Co-founder and CEO Nurasyl Serik recently dug into why he thinks 90% of startups will be remote-first.

A big reason for this is how these small to scaling businesses can be more efficient with their capital.

Opening offices and maintaining them is expensive. And office costs are on the rise again. But for these smaller businesses, it’s also about:

Accessing a larger and more diverse talent pool beyond a specific location
Faster adoption and acceptance into new international markets that allows your company to gain a competitive advantage
Accelerating company valuation and diversifying your revenue streams from new markets
Ability to have coverage around the clock as employees or contractors are based in different time zones.
Providing more freedom for employees to live and work where they deliver their best results. This reduces turnover and also leads to higher productivity.

In 2024, 71% of our customers were businesses with fewer than 100 employees.

While we also work with mid-market and enterprise companies, we saw the biggest global hiring jump in that under 100 employees bracket.

Why is this?

Well, beyond our attractive pricing, it’s just become easier for companies to access global talent, test moving into a remote work model, or to expand globally sooner.

Startups to scaling businesses now have a greater advantage in finding talent, reducing costs, and innovating business growth.

Going global felt like it was only for enterprise business, the ones with billions in revenue. But that game is clearly changing.

5. Companies Didn’t Always Hire Global Talent in Regions with the Lowest Average Salaries

At RemoFirst, we’ve talked about how employing talent globally is not always about saving money. But there is often a misconception that companies hire outside their local market solely to outsource and pay significantly lower salaries.

Sure, there can be that component for business to scale more efficiently by hiring talent in locations where the cost of living is much lower.

However, as we looked at hiring trends across thousands of customers we found that the majority of them were not hiring global talent in places with the lowest average salaries.

Among the top 10 countries where our customers hired talent, six out of 10 have average yearly salaries above $40K.

And the United States and Canada ranked among the top three countries where customers were most actively hiring talent — both of which also boast the highest average global salaries.

Our clients also frequently hired in adjacent countries with similar costs of living and economic status. This signals that the other benefits of hiring international talent matter to companies — and they will pay good salaries that fill specific needs.

What I think is happening here is more companies are expanding the talent pool and looking to fill gaps that ensure their business grows. To me, signaling that saving salary + benefits are not always a priority.

Instead, it’s often about getting the best talent to fill these open roles and meaningfully contribute to the business.

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About This Data

Any data we use is anonymized from customer insights and trends of what local markets they are and/or have been focused on hiring in. While this does not cover a massive sample, this is collected among thousands of companies globally who are finding and open to talent based in countries around the world.

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