60% of US, UK Firms Increased Their Hiring of International Workers in 2021

Businesses employed more international workers in the past year than in the prior year, according to the “Cross-Border Payroll And Contractor Payments Report,” a PYMNTS and Nium collaboration based on a survey of 150 U.S. executives and 100 U.K. executives.

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Sixty percent of the executives surveyed said their firms increased their hiring of international workers between 2020 and 2021, while only 14% said they decreased their hiring. That’s a difference of 46 percentage points.

In comparison, only 42% of the executives said their firms increased their hiring of international workers between 2019 and 2020, while 34% said they decreased their hiring. Here, there was a difference of only 8 percentage points between the share that increased their hiring and the share that decreased it.

The most common reason why these companies employ international workers is to get a better opportunity to scale globally, with 67% saying that is a reason and 33% saying it is the most important reason.

Other reasons cited by more than half of the executives responding to the survey are ease of access to better talent and an increased competitive advantage. These reasons were cited by 58% and 53% respectively. In addition, these reasons were said to be most important by 13% and 16% respectively.

There are some differences between the reasons cited by U.S. firms and those cited by U.K. firms, however.

Among U.S. firms, the top three reasons that are said to be most important are a better opportunity to scale globally, ease of access to better talent and an increased competitive advantage. These reasons were cited by 35%, 15% and 15% respectively.

Among U.K. firms, the three most cited reasons said to be most important are a better opportunity to scale globally, an increased competitive advantage and reduced legal obligations as an employer. These reasons were cited by 31%, 17% and 15% respectively.