Skills shortages push nearly half of UK employers to recruit abroad – Remote
The survey of 500 HR and business leaders found that 39% had expanded recruitment into additional markets.
Nearly half (46%) of UK employers have increased their search for talent overseas as skills shortages make it harder to recruit domestically, research from Remote found.
The survey of 500 HR and business leaders found that 39% had expanded recruitment into additional markets, while 81% said finding qualified talent locally had become more difficult than a year earlier.
Skills shortages were also affecting business performance, with 73% of respondents saying they had missed a key objective, such as a product launch, expansion or revenue target, because they could not access the talent they needed during the previous 12 months.
More than three quarters (78%) said they would increase international hiring if it were as easy and low risk as hiring domestically.
On average, respondents expected 52% of new hires by the end of 2026 to be based outside their primary country of operation.
Employers were also increasingly turning to flexible workers, with 94% of organisations using contractors or freelancers reporting that they had increased their use over the previous two years.
However, the same proportion said they had experienced legal, payroll or compliance issues when using contractors or freelancers during the past 24 months.
Despite this, 99% said they were confident their arrangements complied with local employment law.
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