The pandemic-induced shift to remote work made it clear that a distributed workforce could be practical and viable. In the years since then, cross-border hiring has continued to flourish due to persistent talent shortages, particularly in the tech sector. Korn Ferry estimated in 2018 that unfilled roles will result in $8.5 trillion in lost revenue by 2030. Gartner and McKinsey report that the talent crunch limits growth in high-tech fields, including AI, quantum technologies, cloud computing, and others.
To meet these challenges, companies are increasingly open to hiring remote talent. Research from Gartner shows that cross-border hiring for tech roles doubled from 2020 to 2023, and as of 2022, 58% of organizations employed tech talent working remotely from other countries.
So, what’s the state of global hiring today? Where are companies hiring talent? What roles are they hiring for? What does compensation look like across roles and regions? To find out, Oyster, a global employment platform, analyzed the data from its platform, with particular attention to new hires made in the last calendar year. They also surveyed more than 500 HR professionals in North America and Europe to learn their reasons for hiring internationally.
The full findings are available in Oyster’s 2025 Global Hiring Trends and Impact Report: top hiring destinations, in-demand job families and roles, shifting employment models, compensation insights, and more.
Here are five key global employment insights distilled from the platform data and survey results.
Europe is the top region for global remote hiring.
Where in the world were companies hiring the most? It turns out Europe is the top choice for global employers. Oyster found that 43% of new hires made through its platform in 2024 were in Europe, with Asia (including the Middle East) and North America following at 24% and 20%, respectively.
Drilling down to the country level, the most popular talent markets were the Philippines (9%), the United States (8%), India (7%), Canada (6%), and the United Kingdom (6%). Taken together, these five countries accounted for over a third of new hires on the platform in 2024.
Technology, sales, and marketing are in the highest demand.
Specific roles are more suitable for remote work than others, so they’re easier to fill through cross-border hiring. According to the World Economic Forum, the number of global digital jobs is expected to increase by 25% to over 90 million by 2030. According to Oyster’s recent survey, 57% of HR professionals indicated that their organization intends to hire talent from another country within the next year, with access to a larger talent pool being their top reason for looking beyond borders.
So, what kinds of roles are companies filling with remote, global talent? To answer this question, Oyster examined all active team members on the platform to determine which areas are most supported by international talent. The top three job families for remote talent are:
- Information technology: 35%
- Sales and marketing: 12%
- Office and administrative support: 6%
Why are these the top job categories for recruiting globally? IT roles are naturally remote-friendly, with high global demand and portable skills that let talent ‘plug in’ from anywhere. Sales and marketing hires often align with international expansion, bringing in local experts who understand regional nuances. Administrative and support roles have long been outsourced to extend coverage across time zones, ensuring round-the-clock support through roles such as assistants, customer service, and operational support.
The top roles hired on the platform are closely aligned with the above job families. The most frequently hired role is software engineer, accounting for 18% of new hires in 2024. Other popular roles include marketing coordinator, customer service representative, data analyst, and account manager.
Technology, sales, and marketing are most in demand
Traditionally, being employed meant having a full-time job working 9 to 5. However, as with remote and hybrid work, the gig economy has disrupted traditional work norms, with the rise in freelancing, contracting, fractional work, consulting, and other forms of work. According to McKinsey, these “do-it-yourselfers” value autonomy, flexibility, and meaningful work.
How does this show up in global hiring? Comparing full-time versus contractor roles, there was a 46% increase in new contractor engagements on the Oyster platform from 2023 to 2024, whereas the number of new full-time hires decreased by 2%. This suggests that contractors are increasingly in demand as companies seek flexible and scalable solutions for their workforce needs.
A related microtrend is a sharp rise in consulting hires, which increased tenfold from 2023 to 2024. Taken together, the increase in contract and consulting work indicates an increasing reliance on fractional, part-time, project-based, or general consulting services. For employers, this could be a strategy to fill short-term talent needs quickly and remain agile, or to mitigate tighter talent budgets.
Median global compensation rises by 4% year over year
We’ve looked at where companies are hiring global talent, but what does compensation look like across borders?
The way companies reward employees varies across regions and roles, and a robust global compensation strategy must consider local compliance requirements, market data, employee expectations, and other factors.
While salary data always needs to be contextualized, Oyster examined the compensation data on the platform to determine the median salary overall, as well as for the most frequently hired roles. For this report, the salary data has been standardized by converting to U.S. dollars.
In 2024, the median salary for new hires was $74,700, which represents a 4% increase from 2023. For the most in-demand roles, the median salaries were:
- Account manager: $89,295
- Software engineer: $84,786
- Marketing coordinator: $82,115
- Customer service representative: $51,719
- Data analyst: $39,094
Keep in mind that total compensation goes beyond salaries. In addition to competitive benefits, research from McKinsey shows that employees seek workplaces that offer flexibility, meaningful work, and support for health and well-being.
Confidence in hiring in emerging markets grows.
In 2024, the gross payment volume to emerging economies via Oyster exceeded $137 million, representing a 29% increase from 2023. As this metric increases year over year, it helps uplift global knowledge workers along with their families and communities.
In 2024, 47% of new hires on the platform were located in emerging economies, a three percentage point increase from 2023. Companies are also becoming more confident in hiring talent in these regions and building geographically diverse teams. While just 37% of companies’ first international hires on Oyster are based in emerging markets, that number rises to 48% for subsequent hires—an 11-point increase. In other words, once employers begin hiring in emerging markets, they’re more likely to continue seeking talent in these markets, gaining confidence and moving past any initial uncertainty.
This story was produced by Oyster and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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