While the pandemic-induced shift to remote work made it clear that a distributed workforce could be effective 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 estimates that unfilled roles will result in $8.5 trillion in lost revenue by 2030, while Gartner and McKinsey report that the talent crunch is limiting growth in high-tech fields like AI, quantum technologies, cloud computing, and more.
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 58% of organizations now employ tech talent working remotely from other countries.
As a global employment platform that enables companies to hire talent globally, Oyster has been at the forefront of the rapidly evolving landscape of global talent acquisition. Over the years, we’ve seen our customer companies diversify their hiring practices, expand into new markets, and build globally distributed teams.
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, we analyzed the data from the Oyster platform, with particular attention to new hires made in the last calendar year. We also surveyed 500+ HR professionals in North America and Europe to learn about their reasons for hiring internationally.
We’re delighted to share our findings 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. If you’re a founder or People leader or C-suite executive, or just curious about the state of global hiring today, the insights and trends in this report will help you make data-informed decisions about your global talent strategy.
Here are five key global employment insights distilled from our platform data and survey results.
Europe is the top region for global remote hiring
Oyster supports hiring full-time employees and contractors in 180+ countries on six continents, but where in the world were companies hiring the most?
It turns out Europe is the top choice for global employers. We found that 43% of new hires made through the Oyster platform in 2024 were located in Europe, with Asia (inclusive of the Middle East) and North America following at 24% and 20%, respectively.
If we drill down to the country level, companies used Oyster to hire talent in 110+ countries in 2024. Among them, 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 Oyster platform in 2024.
Technology, sales, and marketing are most in demand
Certain types of 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 will increase by 25% to over 90 million by 2030. And in our recent survey, 57% of HR professionals indicated that their organization intends to hire talent in 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, we looked at all active team members on the Oyster platform to see what areas are most supported by international talent. We found that the top three job families for remote talent are the following:
- 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,” explains Erin Goodey, Director of People Services at Oyster.
“Sales and marketing hires often align with global expansion—bringing in local experts who understand regional nuances. Admin and support roles have long been outsourced to extend coverage across time zones, ensuring round-the-clock support via roles like assistants, customer service, and operational support.”
The top roles hired on Oyster 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.
Employment models are shifting in favor of contract work
Traditionally, being employed meant having a full-time job working 9 to 5. But as with remote and hybrid work, traditional work norms have been disrupted by the gig economy—the rise in freelancing, contracting, fractional work, consulting, and more. According to McKinsey, these “do-it-yourselfers” value autonomy, flexibility, and meaningful work.
How does this show up in global hiring? When we looked at full-time vs. contractor roles on the Oyster platform, we found that there was a 46% increase in new contractor engagements from 2023 to 2024, whereas the number of new full-time hires decreased slightly by 2%. This suggests that contractors are increasingly in demand as companies look for flexible and scalable solutions for their workforce needs.
A related micro-trend we noticed is a sharp rise in consulting hires, which grew 10x 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?
How companies reward people varies across regions and roles, and a robust global compensation strategy needs to consider local compliance requirements, market data, employee expectations, and more. If you’re looking for guidance, Oyster’s Salary Insights tool offers comprehensive salary insights across 130+ countries.
While salary data always needs to be contextualized, we looked at the compensation data on the Oyster platform to uncover the median salary overall as well as for the most frequently hired roles. Note that Oyster supports payments in 140+ currencies, but for the purposes of this report, the salary data has been standardized by converting to U.S. dollars.
In 2024, the median salary for new hires on Oyster 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. Oyster’s Total Rewards helps you offer compliant and competitive compensation around the world, including salary, benefits, and equity.
Confidence hiring in emerging markets grows
As a mission-driven B Corp, Oyster aims to create a more equal world by making it possible for talented individuals around the world to access good jobs and career opportunities regardless of where they live. For this reason, we measure Oyster’s impact in terms of the employment opportunities we enable for skilled professionals in emerging economies. Each year, we publish an impact report to hold ourselves accountable to our mission.
One important measure of Oyster’s social impact is the total payments that flow through our platform to talent in underserved regions. In 2024, the gross payment volume (GPV) to emerging economies was over $137 million, which was a 29% increase over 2023. As this metric increases year over year, it helps uplift global knowledge workers along with their families and communities.
Another metric we track is the percentage of hires made in emerging markets. In 2024, 47% of new hires on Oyster were located in emerging economies, which is 3 percentage points higher than 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.
Access the data and insights you need with Oyster
Building a global team is a clear competitive advantage. By expanding your talent pool, you can fill roles faster, gain local market insights, expand your time zone coverage, and ensure cost-conscious growth.
Whether you’re contemplating your first global hire or expanding into new markets, having the right data can help you make informed decisions. Download Oyster’s 2025 Global Hiring Trends and Impact Report for real-world data and insights to optimize your global talent strategy.
About Oyster
Oyster is a global employment platform designed to enable visionary HR leaders to find, engage, pay, manage, develop, and take care of a thriving distributed workforce. Oyster lets growing companies give valued international team members the experience they deserve, without the usual headaches and expense.
Oyster enables hiring anywhere in the world—with reliable, compliant payroll, and great local benefits and perks.
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