Deel Lab, the HR leader’s research and policy consortium, today published its State of Global Hiring Report. Findings from 260k+ worker contracts across 160 countries show that from January-December 2022, global hiring grew across all regions, although some regions saw a higher rate of involuntary terminations and lower average starting salaries in the second half of the year. 

Key trends: 

• Global hiring is still hot: Global hiring sustained its momentum throughout the year, as 89% of all contracts were for remote roles. Many companies looked abroad to optimise talent costs. 
• Layoffs were up in H2 2022: Terminations increased in the second half of the year. In January 2022, terminations accounted for 28% of all contracts ended, and by December, that number grew to 42%. Workers in the UK, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and the US, as well as workers in software, product, and marketing roles saw the greatest percent increase in terminations throughout 2022. 
• Starting salaries were down as markets cooled: Across regions, Mexico, Netherlands, US, Nigeria, and Argentina saw the greatest declines in new worker salaries. Those in accountancy, customer support, consulting, product, and design roles saw the biggest salary decreases globally.
• USD’s increasing popularity: Globally, USD withdrawals were up <2% in 2022. Some workers leaned on the strong dollar more than others, with the biggest jumps in USD withdrawals seen in Georgia, Bolivia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.  
• Crypto’s declining demand: Unsurprisingly, the report shows that the global workforce has lost some interest in receiving payment in cryptocurrency. The percentage of overall payroll withdrawals in crypto were at 4% in December 2022, down from 5% in the first half of the year. 

“What stands out in this State of Global Hiring Report is that the global worker model has become the preferred option for many organisations in uncertain economic times,” said Samuel Dahan, Chair of Deel Lab. “More interestingly, we note fascinating patterns, such as the US becoming the hottest market to hire global workers.”

UK findings: 

• UK terminations spike in 2022: The UK suffered the greatest percentage increase in terminations through 2022, with the greatest number of layoffs taking place for those in content, software engineering and sales roles. 
• Recruitment, product and software salaries take the greatest hit: Looking at declining UK salaries in 2022, recruiting roles saw a 22% decrease. Salaries for product roles dipped by 9%, whilst software engineering fell by 7%. Salaries for design roles increased by 15% in 2022, and both success and operations enjoyed a 5% increase respectively.
• UK employees continue to hunt for international roles: The UK ranked as the fourth hottest country international companies are hiring from, and the top country in the EMEA region. The countries hiring UK workers at the fastest rate in 2022 vs 2021 are Germany (+110%), France (+103%) and the US (+93%). Sales, consulting, and recruiting are the top roles being hired.
• UK companies’ search for global hires continues: By the number of organisations hiring internationally, the UK came out on top, followed by Germany and France respectively. It’s clear UK companies are continuing to seek out global talent, with employment of workers from Indonesia up 816%, Turkey following at +701%, and Ghana at +635%. Those born past 1990 – millennials and Gen Z – accounted for the majority (56%) of UK hires. The top job titles hired by UK organisations are statistician, trader and trading contractor. 
• UK crypto demand follows the global trend: The percentage of UK payroll withdrawals in crypto fell to 0.68% in H2 2022, following the global trend of declining demand. 

 

Matt Monette, Country Lead & Head of Expansion, UK&I at Deel said: “These results paint a picture of the complex employment landscape that both employees and organisations currently face. We’re observing the devastating impact of the UK downturn both in terms of terminations and depressed salaries in real time. Meanwhile, there are encouraging signs of growth, with international organisations’ appetite for UK talent staying strong, and the UK coming out on top in terms of the number of organisations hiring internationally. In 2023 we’re likely to see similarly disparate trends emerge.”