Talent Trends

Global Talent Trends by Multiplier Where the world is hiring and
what it costs Where the world is hiring and what it costs to get there

Get the basics,
country by country

See the essential cross-border hiring data for popular talent markets, including salary benchmarks by country. To go deeper on a market, try our employment guides, showing hiring and salary data for United States, United Kingdom, and more. Then hire where the world is hiring with our infrastructure.

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Hover one country to pull its top-level read Click on one country to pull its top-level read Swipe to move · Pinch to zoom · Tap a country for details

Know a market,
before you enter it

Get a full view of each country's talent landscape. Forecast your costs with global salary data and see how complex hiring will be before you commit. Factor in the cost of EOR, and you have the full picture needed to budget with confidence.

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Where top hiring markets find their talent

Companies in the five biggest hiring markets build teams across borders every day. See which countries they hire from, the roles they fill, and what they pay, then benchmark your plans against theirs.

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    Compare markets with ease

    Not sure which market makes the most sense for your budget? Pick two countries and compare them side by side. See how costs, timelines, and resources stack up against each other to build the strongest case.

    How to read the list
    Q to Q growth Growth of hiring in a country from one quarter to the next
    Median salary Median annual salary (USD), ranked highest first
    Median onboarding time Number of days from signed contract to first day
    Crossborder share Share of hires made by companies headquartered in another country
    India flag Brazil flag
    Growth of hiring in a country from one quarter to the next.
    Median salary
    Median onboarding time
    Share of hires made by companies headquartered in another country.

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    Match your role
    to the right market

    The same role can cost very different amounts in time and money, depending on where the talent lives. Tell us the role you're hiring for. We'll show you the markets that match, ranked by demand, so you can focus on the ones worth your time

    How to read the list
    Median salary Median annual salary (USD), ranked highest first
    Demand level The level of demand for a role in a country
    Deep High Moderate Low
    Median onboarding Number of days from signed contract to first day
    Country
    The demand for this role in each country.
    Compare hiring costs per country Calculate costs

    Employee cost calculator

    Compare employee hiring costs by country to make financially strategic hiring decisions and forecast your budgets with confidence.

    Calculate your hiring costs

    Estimate what a hire costs, country by country, including base salary, insurance, and taxes.

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    On-demand webinar

    Headcount planning workshop

    Plan and execute global hiring strategies with confidence using talent trends tools in our live workshop.

    November 12, 2026, 12 pm EST, 5 pm GMT

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    Speakers

    • Amritpal Singh

      Amritpal Singh

      Co-founder & President Field Operations Multiplier

    Sagar Khatri

    “This quarter, we’ve identified a significant shift toward geographic specialization. Leaders are pairing executive decision-making hubs in mature governance markets like Singapore and Australia with high-depth execution corridors across LATAM, South Asia, and EMEA.”

    Sagar Khatri Co-Founder and CEO of Multiplier

    Mike Aperian

    “What stands out to me is how much these hiring decisions depend on effective cross-cultural collaboration. Companies can hire strong commercial talent, build technical hubs and align time zones, but they also need to consider how colleagues across those locations will work together.”

    Mike Greto President of Aperian

    Sagar Khatri

    “Nearshoring is picking up momentum as companies prioritize time-zone alignment for core technical delivery; Asian tech hubs are showing steep churn replacement cost; and we’re seeing global hiring velocity swing dramatically on localized tax calendars and regional budget resets.”

    Sagar Khatri Co-Founder and CEO of Multiplier

    FAQs

    Want to dive deeper into our data? Send us an email at Want to dive deeper into our data? Send us an email at [email protected]

    How was Talent Trends built?

    Talent Trends is built on actual employment and contract data from more than 38,000 real hires across 160+ countries in the 24 months to June 2026. It doesn’t use self-reported surveys or job postings.

    • Dataset Scope: covers Employer of Record (EOR) employees, contractors and freelancers across 160+ countries. Excludes Global Payroll employees and contracts that hadn’t started.
    • Standardization: more than 10,000 job titles are grouped into standardized job functions to compare talent depth, median salaries, hiring speed and tenure.
    • Definitions: salaries are median annual EOR pay in US dollars, hiring speed is the median number of days from contract draft to first day, and growth compares the 12 months to June 2026 with the 12 months before.
    • Data Integrity: every metric requires at least 50 hires, with no single company making up more than 35% of the data. Exceptions (the top hiring function for Indonesia, the Netherlands, Portugal and the US) are marked as indicative.
    • Reading the figures: country-level figures draw on large numbers of hires, so they give a stable benchmark. Role-level figures in smaller markets rest on fewer hires and can move more from quarter to quarter, so they’re best used as a directional guide.
    • Data Limitations: reflects cross-border hiring through Multiplier, mostly by technology and professional services companies. It doesn’t represent each country’s full labor market, domestic-only hiring or public-sector employment. Every number is based on a real hire.
    What is the average salary by country?

    Median annual salaries for cross-border EOR hires range from $141,544 USD in Singapore to $15,168 USD in the Philippines, based on Multiplier hiring data from the 24 months to June 2026.

    • Highest-paid markets: Singapore (140,000 USD), United Kingdom ($120,073 USD), UAE ($118,698 USD), Canada ($110,283 USD) and Australia ($103,960 USD).
    • Western Europe: Germany ($98,656 USD) and Spain ($86,324 USD).
    • Latin America: Mexico ($47,705 USD), Brazil ($44,933 USD) and Colombia ($36,527 USD).
    • Asia-Pacific: India ($28,241 USD), Vietnam ($24,297 USD), Indonesia ($17,708 USD) and the Philippines ($15,168 USD).
    • Africa: South Africa ($29,773 USD).
    • Role Compensation Premium: US engineering and data hires earn a median $165,000 USD, compared with $125,494 USD in Canada, $33,938 USD in India and $22,687 USD in the Philippines.
    Which countries are companies hiring from most?

    The top destinations for international hiring are the Philippines (1,946 hires), India (1,489 hires) and Canada (1,281 hires), based on Multiplier hiring data from the 24 months to June 2026.

    • The Philippines: the leading delivery hub. Customer support makes up 21% of hires, and only 1.2% are director-level or above.
    • India: the leading engineering hub. Engineering and data makes up 51% of hires.
    • Canada: the primary nearshore market for US companies, which make 80% of hires. Hiring grew 302% in the 12 months to June 2026.
    • United Kingdom & Germany: sales is the largest function (22% and 26% of hires, respectively).
    • Singapore & UAE: regional leadership hubs, where 26.1% and 32.7% of hires, respectively, are director-level or above.
    How much does it cost to employ someone overseas?

    The total cost of an overseas hire is the gross base salary plus statutory employer contributions, mandatory benefits and an Employer of Record (EOR) fee.

    • Gross Base Salary: median salaries range from $15,168 USD (Philippines) to $141,544 USD (Singapore).
    • Statutory Employer Contributions: social security and payroll taxes add roughly 8% to 35%+ on top of salary.
    • High burden (25%–35%+): France, Brazil, Italy, Spain.
    • Moderate burden (13%–20%): UK, Singapore (CPF employer contribution up to 17%).
    • Lower burden (around 8%–10%): US, Canada (CPP and EI).
    • Statutory Benefits: mandatory benefits such as 13th-month pay in the Philippines, FGTS severance in Brazil, and 20–30 days of paid leave in Europe.
    • Platform Fees: use the Employee Cost Calculator to estimate total employer costs, or see Multiplier’s transparent EOR pricing.
    Where is hiring demand growing fastest?

    Hiring through Multiplier grew 53% in the 12 months to June 2026. Among the 20 markets in Talent Trends, nearshore markets grew fastest, led by Canada (+302% YoY) and Colombia (+210% YoY). Shared working hours with US employers are a likely draw.

    • Canada (+302% YoY): grew from 255 to 1,026 hires. US companies make 80% of hires, and engineering and data drove 30% of the growth.
    • Colombia (+210% YoY): grew from 52 to 161 hires. US companies make 85% of hires, and 91% of contractors and freelancers are paid in USD.
    • South Africa (+146% YoY): grew from 56 to 138 hires, the fastest growth of the EMEA markets in Talent Trends. Customer support makes up 27% of hires.
    • Brazil (+123% YoY): grew to 143 hires. Engineering and data is the top function (28%).
    • Germany (+92% YoY): grew to 117 hires. Sales is the top function (26%).
    • Major Corridors: US-to-Canada is Multiplier’s largest hiring corridor, up 170% in Q2 2026 compared with Q2 2025. The Netherlands also grew 70% over the same period.
    How do you calculate fully-loaded employer cost?

    Fully-loaded employer cost is the sum of gross annual salary, statutory payroll taxes, social security contributions, mandatory bonuses or allowances, and platform fees.

    Fully-Loaded Cost = Gross Base Salary + Payroll Taxes + Social Insurance + Mandatory Bonuses + EOR / Admin Fee

    Calculation Steps:

    1. Establish Gross Annual Salary: convert the contract salary to your reporting currency.
    2. Add Statutory Contributions: multiply the base salary by the country’s statutory employer tax rate.
    3. Add Mandatory Allowances: add statutory bonuses, such as 13th-month pay.
    4. Add Platform Fees: include monthly management fees. Estimate the total with the Employee Cost Calculator, or check Multiplier’s pricing.

    Example (engineering hire in Brazil, at the median engineering salary):

    • Base Salary: $57,000 USD
    • Statutory Taxes & Social Security (~28%): $15,960 USD
    • Mandatory FGTS Severance Deposit (8%): $4,560 USD
    • 13th Salary (one extra month): $4,750 USD
    • Vacation Bonus (one-third of a month): $1,583 USD
    • Total Fully-Loaded Employer Cost: about $83,853 USD (excluding platform fees)
    How often is this data updated?

    Talent Trends is refreshed every quarter, using a rolling 24-month dataset of actual cross-border hires.

    Quarterly Refresh:

    • Recalculates median salaries across all 20 benchmarked markets.
    • Updates quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) and year-over-year (YoY) growth figures.
    • Recalculates US dollar pay splits for contractors and freelancers.
    • Re-checks every metric against the 50-hire minimum.
    Where does this data come from?

    All figures in Talent Trends come from more than 38,000 real hires through Multiplier across 160+ countries in the 24 months to June 2026, using actual contracts and pay rather than surveys or job listings. See FAQ 1 for the full methodology.

    Can I cite or reuse this data?

    Yes. Talent Trends statistics and charts are available for reuse under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) guidelines.

    Citation Rules:

    • Online Articles & Digital Media: attribute the source to “Talent Trends by Multiplier” and link to usemultiplier.com/talent-trends.
    • Print & Academic Reports: cite as “Talent Trends 2026, Multiplier Technologies.”
    • Press & Custom Inquiries: request custom cuts via Contact Us or email [email protected].

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