Amid rising wage inflation and an AI talent crunch, companies are abandoning domestic-first hiring models at a record pace. A new global survey by Pebl shows 86% of HR and finance leaders plan to expand hiring abroad within two years.
Nearly half (48%) expect international workers to make up at least half of their workforce by 2027. Economic concerns are a key driver: 87% say hiring abroad simply makes better financial sense.
Hiring Goes Global — Fast
Global hiring is accelerating. Leaders anticipate a 57% rise in international hires within 12 months, jumping to 69% over the next two years. Nearly half of respondents plan to ramp up overseas hiring by early 2026, led by U.S. companies (46%), followed by Germany (43%) and the U.K. (38%).
The U.K. in particular is scaling up rapidly, expecting international hiring to grow from 38% in six months to 85% by 24 months. By 2028, 40% of executives believe global-first hiring will be the standard.
Wage Inflation and Immigration Hurdles Add Fuel
Rising pay expectations in the U.S. are accelerating this: 61% of U.S. leaders say domestic wage inflation is pushing them toward global hiring. Meanwhile, 60% are turning to automation and AI to manage costs, and 57% are already speeding up international recruitment efforts.
Immigration backlogs are making things worse. Over a quarter (28%) of U.S. leaders say visa delays are driving them to hire abroad. With proposals like a $100,000 H-1B application fee looming, visa-free hiring is becoming an increasingly attractive alternative.
Red Tape Still Slows Expansion
Compliance and regulation remain major barriers. 87% of companies say they’ve pulled back from entering new markets due to red tape, and a third have run into these issues more than once. German executives are most affected, with 57% naming regulatory unpredictability as their top concern.
Still, many companies feel ready to scale. Nearly 7 in 10 say they are well-prepared to build distributed teams in the next 12–24 months — though 32% admit they still need support to do it effectively.
