Brain gain or drain?
How shifts ininternational job search
are accelerating global
competition for talent
Pawel Adrjan, Annina Hering, Alexandre Judes, Alassane-Anand Ndour
Indeed Hiring Lab
June 2022

Pawel Adrjan, Annina Hering,Alexandre Judes, Alassane-Anand Ndour
Indeed Hiring Lab
June 2022
The Indeed Hiring Lab is an international teamof economists, researchers and data scientists
dedicated to delivering insights that help drive
the global labour market conversation.
The Hiring Lab produces research on global
labour market topics using Indeed’s proprietarydata, survey data and publicly available sources.
Our research is available to media, researchers,
policymakers, jobseekers and employers to
help them understand the world of work.
Please contact us at
hiringlabinfo@indeed.com.
For media enquiries please contact
EMEA_PR@indeed.com.
Acknowledgements: We would like to thank
Felix Altmann, Sarah Carroll, Lewis Dean, Agnès
Gicquel, Svenja Gudell, Fabian Hans, Laura
Hegarty, Kelly Oude Veldhuis, Rachel Robinson,
Margot Schneider and Tara Sinclair for helpfulcomments and suggestions.

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Pawel Adrjan

Alexandre Judes

Pawel Adrjan is Director of EMEA Economic Research at theAlexandre Judes is an Economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab inIndeed Hiring Lab, where he develops actionable insights on theFrance. Prior to joining Indeed, he worked at Rexecode, where

labour market to help businesses and policy makers make better

he was in charge of the digital economy portfolio and worked

decisions, and a Research Fellow in Economics at Regent’s Parkon multiple policy issues such as French competitiveness, labour

College, Oxford. Over the last two decades,

market reform and European integration. His past experience

Pawel has worked in Europe and the US, holding senior positions

also includes investment banking, consulting and public

in risk management at Goldman Sachs and Barclays in New

administration. He graduated in finance and economics fromYork and London. He holds degrees from the University of

ENSAE Paris.

Pennsylvania and the University of Warwick and a PhD in
Economics from the University of Oxford.

4

Annina Hering

Alassane-Anand Ndour

Annina Hering is an Economist at the Indeed Hiring Lab in

Alassane Ndour is a Senior Data Specialist at Dataiku where

Germany. Previously she was a postdoctoral researcher at thehe analyses large product datasets to deliver insights and

Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies, where she was arecommendations to customers. He was previously a Senior

member of the International Max Planck Research School on the

Research Associate at the Indeed Hiring Lab where he assisted

Social and Political Constitution of the Economy (IMPRS-SPCE).

economists with the collection and analysis of big data. Alassane

She holds a BA in Politics and Society from the University ofholds a BA from Concordia University, an MSc in economics from

Bonn, an MSc in Sociology and Empirical Research and a PhD in

Warwick University and an MSc in Data

Social Sciences from the University of Cologne.

Science from City, University of London.

5

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Introduction
The pandemic has had a tremendous impact on the movement of people
and goods across borders. Yet, unlike international trade, which is still
crippled by supply chain disruptions, the movement of people acrossborders is showing surprising resilience judging by the rapid rebound incross-border job search on Indeed’s platform in 2022. Against all odds, theactivity of internationally mobile jobseekers is on the verge of returning topre-crisis levels. Businesses should understand this development as they
think about recruitment and officials must take it into account whensetting economic policy.
Jobseeker mobility could even reach new

Our report — which leverages timely andheights on the back of powerful long-term

unique data from hundreds of millions offorces, such as digitisation and the ageing of

job searches and postings on Indeed —the workforce, which change the mix of skills

shows that the remote work revolution andemployers need and the availability of workers.

widespread labour shortages brought about

Coupled with geopolitical shocks — such as

by the pandemic are likely to fuel cross-

Brexit, war in Ukraine and political turmoil inborder mobility across all segments of theHong Kong — these transformations are gameworkforce. Well-prepared employers canchangers for the European labour market.

position themselves to take advantage ofSome countries are already taking advantage ofthis transformation. This report provides anincreased international job search and mobility

inventory of innovative practices that can guideto fill gaps in domestic labour supply. For their

recruiters and help employers navigate throughpart, businesses find themselves competingthe opportunities and challenges of post-

for talent ever more intensively in a global

pandemic European labour markets.

marketplace in which traditional boundaries
have fallen away.

6

7

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talentContents
Introduction

06

About this report

10

Main findings12

1. Cross-border mobility is bouncing back from the pandemic

19

Migration is set to grow as limits on international travelease and job search picks up

20

Europeans are searching for jobs outside their home countries again

22

Europe is also increasingly a destination for jobseekers
from outside the continent

24

High-paying jobs in management, business, finance andprofessional services fuel cross-border mobility

26

2. Remote work, labour shortages and geopolitics are catalysts for the
future of cross-border mobility
Foreign jobseekers are keen on remote jobs

30

Hard to fill jobs get more clicks from foreign jobseekers than the average job

32

Geopolitical events are having an impact on job search and migration

36

3. Wealthy and open economies stand to gain

43

Introducing the net interest score metric: Brain drain or brain gain?

44

What drives the changes in country attractiveness?

47

What has changed with the pandemic?

48

4. Employers are getting ready for a rebound in international migration

51

European employers are keen to hire foreign workers in 2022

52

Hiring foreign workers can be challenging

56

Businesses are taking concrete steps to attract foreign candidates

58

5. Conclusion: What do the shifting international job search patterns
mean for recruitment?
Takeaways for employers

8

29

61
62

Additional country data (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, theNetherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK)

64

Methodology

78

9

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

About this report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

The Covid-19 pandemic temporarily changed

for many people to move to another country

the migration picture by halting international

for work, while job opportunities became

travel and plunging the world into an economic

scarce. But the pandemic is now ebbing, raisingcrisis. Public health restrictions made it difficult

important and timely questions:

What do current cross-border job search patterns suggest for the futureof international migration in Europe?
How are post-pandemic labour shortages, the rise of remote jobs andgeopolitical instability transforming job search by making it feasible forMigration is a permanent feature of European society.

a significant share of the labour force to work anywhere in the world?

For example, over 8% of the nearly 450 million residents

Which countries stand to benefit?

of the European Union were born outside its borders.

What can employers do to tap into the burgeoning pool of global talent?

In the UK, the foreign-born population is estimated to beas high as 14%, rising to 37% in London. Migration is acontroversial subject all over the world but the ability

To answer these questions, we use unique,

Indeed’s platform provides the largest datasetof labour to move across borders is vital for the smooth

timely data on job search and job postings fromof its kind, including anonymised information

Indeed’s global platform, complemented withon over 800 million cross-border job searches

recent surveys and the latest official statistics

carried out between January 2019 and Aprilon migration. One advantage of Indeed’s job

2022, and over 100 million job postings. In

search data is its worldwide reach, enabling us

addition, this report uses data from surveys ofto obtain not only local or country-level data,

employers and workers that Indeed Hiring Lab

but also to illuminate broad pan-European

commissioned in eight countries in March 2022.

functioning of the labour market.

and global labour market trends. Anotheradvantage is that online job search is highly
correlated with migration. The scale, timelinessand relevance of the data help shed light on
possible drivers of work-related internationalmigration and project future migration flows
after the pandemic.

10

Our focus is on 32 countries in Europe,
consisting of the European Economic Area,
Switzerland and the UK. References to Europe
and European jobseekers throughout thereport are based on this group of countries,
which together cover a large portion of theEuropean continent.

11

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

MAIN FINDINGS

Rebound in cross-border job search
Cross-border job search has rebounded from its pandemic low. Thissuggests substantial potential for new inflows of migrant workers to themost attractive European labour markets as the pandemic recedes.
•

Europeans: European jobseekers are increasingly looking forwork outside their home countries, both within and outside Europe.
Cross-border searches by European jobseekers are still 10% under their2017-19 average, but they are up substantially from the pandemic lowof 32% below that level. See page 22.

•

Non-Europeans: Jobseekers based outside Europe are increasingly
looking in. Inbound searches from outside Europe are 38% above the2017-19 average, up from the pandemic low of 31% below. See page 24.

What drives cross-border mobility?
The rebound in cross-border job search is driven by a host of factors.
Some, such as skills and pay, were already strong drivers before thepandemic. Others, such as the rise of remote work, labour shortages
and geopolitics are stronger than before.
•

Higher pay: Postings in highly paid occupations — such as

12

Labour shortages: For occupations with jobs that are hard to fill —management, business, finance and professional services, which tendsuch as nursing, medicine, engineering, construction and tech —to require high skills and qualifications — attract around twice as many

foreign jobseekers are also more common. They are often the only

foreign jobseekers as other jobs. This means that employers offering

option available when domestic workers are in short supply or lack

those jobs can tap into a global labour pool, which calls for a talent

the skills needed for these jobs. See page 32.

acquisition and employer branding strategy. See page 26.
•••

Geopolitics: Non-economic factors also affect European labour markets.

Remote work: In France, Germany and the UK — the three largest

Job search patterns consistently capture reactions to geopolitical

European economies and magnets for economic migration — foreign

events, such as political turmoil in Hong Kong or the war in Ukraine.

jobseekers are around two to three times more likely than domestic

Use of the new Ukrainian language version of Indeed’s site in Poland —jobseekers to search and apply for remote jobs. This suggests jobs

which has received more Ukrainian refugees than any other country —that can be performed remotely have the potential to attract a

increased rapidly from zero to around 1.5% of all job searches in

global pool of workers. See page 30.

Poland by late March. See page 36.

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Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

MAIN FINDINGS

Most attractive countries
for international jobseekers

Which countries are most attractive
to international jobseekers?
High-income countries attract most jobseekers. In addition, countries where

1.

Luxembourg

2.

Switzerland

3.

United Kingdom

4.

Germany

5.

Ireland6.

Netherlands

7.

France8.

Belgium

9.

Spain

10.

Portugaljob postings have rebounded most rapidly from the pandemic, suggesting astronger labour market, have tended to move up the attractiveness ranking

Source: Indeed

in the past two years.
•

14

Most attractive destinations: We measure the attractiveness of•Labour market strength: Countries where the labour market islabour markets to internationally mobile jobseekers with a net interest

recovering faster from the pandemic as measured by job postings onscore that considers each country’s importance as a destination

Indeed — including Denmark, Luxembourg and the UK — have improved

among jobseekers based in other countries, as well as the propensity

their net interest scores in part because domestic jobseekers haveof jobseekers based in that country to search abroad. Luxembourg,

become less likely to search for jobs abroad. Countries such as Belgium,

Switzerland, the UK, Germany and Ireland have the highest excess of

the Czech Republic and Spain, where labour markets are recovering

inbound over outbound job search and therefore lead our ranking. These

more slowly, are among those where the net interest score has fallen

countries are the most likely destinations for net work-related migration

most. Countries with the lowest net interest scores — like Romania,

in Europe in the near future. The UK continues to rank highly despite theGreece, Finland and Hungary — appear most likely to be sources ofpost-Brexit decline in interest in British jobs from EU-based candidates.

economic migration on the continent in the coming months.

See page 44.

See page 47.

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Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

MAIN FINDINGS

What are the takeaways for employers?
•

Prepare: Get ready for the expected inflow of foreign candidates
by understanding where they are coming from and what jobs they
are interested in.

•

Worker shortages: Remote, high-paying and hard-to-fill roles tend toreceive high shares of clicks from overseas, indicating employers facing
labour shortages should craft strategies to attract those jobseekers.

•

Strategies: To access the global talent pool in today’s tight labour
market, many businesses are taking specific steps to reach foreign
workers, such as posting jobs abroad, hiring recruiters with foreign
language skills, taking advantage of government schemes or writing job
descriptions in multiple languages.

•

Refugees: Workers fleeing armed conflict or persecution can bea rich source of talent, often needing jobs more urgently than
average jobseekers, which means employers may be able to findstaff by considering the wide range of skills and backgrounds

How are businesses thinking
about hiring foreign workers?
••

Languages: Employers can better tap into the global talent pool byassessing the language requirements of different jobs and helping
foreign staff improve their language and cultural communication skills.

Hiring plans: Employers and workers are preparing for a rebound in
migration. Our survey of employers in eight countries shows that 64%•

these candidates offer.

•

Retention: A focus on retention is essential given the risk of brain drainof businesses will “definitely” or “probably” hire foreign workers in 2022.

as cross-border search picks up, which means keeping an eye on the

See page 52.

needs of the workforce, knowing the salaries and working conditions

Motivation: According to our surveys, labour shortages are thecompetitors offer, and adapting accordingly.

leading motivation for hiring foreign staff, followed by the need tobring in foreign language skills and the desire to take advantage of thequalifications of foreign candidates. See page 54.
•

Strategies: Many employers are taking concrete steps to attract foreign
candidates, such as advertising jobs in other countries, posting job
ads in multiple languages and hiring foreign recruitment agencies orin-house recruiters with foreign language skills. See page 58.

16

The remainder of this report delves deeper into these trends. Additionally, the appendix contains
country profiles for Europe’s 12 largest economies — Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland,
Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK — with data on the contributionsof foreign jobseekers in each labour market based on cross-border job search patterns.

17Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

1. Cross-bordermobility isbouncing backfrom the pandemic
International job search is a useful indicator ofjobseeker interest in moving across borders.
It’s correlated with actual migration patterns
and available with a much shorter lag thanofficial statistics on work-related migration.
For most of the past two years, the pandemic
and related restrictions on international
travel and mobility made it difficult to moveto another country for a job. The result was a
decline in international job search as well as afall in international migration.
Now that the pandemic is receding, has crossborder mobility recovered? If so, what would
this mean for post-pandemic mobility andfuture migration patterns? And what would
be the implications for the European labour
market, worker shortages and recruitment?
Job search trends on Indeed provide
important clues.

18

19

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Migration is set to grow as limits
on international travel ease andjob search picks up
The pandemic prompted governments toThose restrictions started to ease in the

introduce a wide range of public healthsecond half of 2021. This trend accelerated in

restrictions starting in early 2020, including

early 2022, with some countries completely

strict limits on international travel. According

removing travel restrictions, enabling moreto the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response

people to travel than during most of the

Tracker, peak travel restrictions in Europe

pandemic, thus reducing the barriers toranged from total border closures and bans on

international migration.

As travel restrictions eased, work-related

2019 levels in France and Germany respectively,

migration flows started to recover. Data fromthis represented substantial improvements from

Europe’s largest economies shows issuancethe almost 50% drop in 2020. The reversal wasof work-related visas bounced back fromeven more dramatic in the UK, with its new post-

pandemic lows in 2021 (Figure 2). While 2021

Brexit immigration rules, where total work visa

work visa issuance was still 13% and 16% below

issuance soared to 25% above 2019 levels in 2021.

Figure 2 - Issuance of work-related visas has started to recover
Figure- Restrictions
on internationalin the1largest
Europeaneconomies
Changesince across2019 (%) Europe
travel haveeased

arrivals from certain regions (Figure 1).

25%

25%

Figure 1 - Restrictions on international travel have eased across Europe
Figure1 - Restrictions
on international
7-day average
acrossEEA countries, Switzerland& UK to 15 May 2022
travel have eased across Europe

0
-13%

4

-16%
-25%

3
-50%
2

-75%

1

2019

2020
France02020
4=Total border closure
3=Ban on arrivals fromsome regions

2021

2022

2=Quarantining arrivals
from high-risk regions

UK

Source: Ministry of the Interior (France), Federal Foreign Office (Germany), Home Office (UK)France and Germany: long-term work-related visas, UK: all work-related visas

0=No measures

1=Screening
Source: Oxford Covid-19 Government Response Tracker

20

Germany2021

More timely job search data show jobseeker

developments on the public health orinterest in moving for work continues togeopolitical fronts. The Ukraine war is a case in

rise, suggesting work-related migration will

point. We discuss its impact in Section 2.

recover further in 2022, barring unexpected21Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Europeans are searching for jobs
outside their home countries again
As public health restrictions eased, cross-

European jobseekers ramped up searches forborder job search in Europe rebounded. We

overseas jobs in the second half of 2021 after

see this rebound in both directions. On the one

over a year of below-average international

hand, Europeans are increasingly searching forjob search activity (Figure 3). Before 2019,

jobs outside their home countries, both within

the trend was flat, with a gradual decline that

Europe and out. On the other hand, jobseekers

year, perhaps because tight labour markets

outside Europe are increasingly searching for

created lots of opportunities in jobseekers’

jobs in Europe. This suggests pent-up demandhome countries. Then, as the pandemic gripped

for moving across borders for work, which

Europe, cross-border search fell 32% below

may make recruitment easier for employers in

its 2017-19 average, staying low during mostcountries and sectorsof 2020 and the first half of 2021. Since then,that rely on migrantsearches have rebounded. While they were

workers.

still 10% below the 2017-2019 average as of

Cross-bordersearch fell 32%
below its 20172019 averageduring the
pandemic andstayed low
during most of2020 and thefirst half of 2021.

To analyse trends
in international job
search in Europe, weFigure 3 - Europeans are searching for jobs
outside their home countries again
Searches for jobs in another country as a share of
all searches by European jobseekers on Indeed to April 20226%5%

2017-19 average

April 2022, the recent rise indicates growing
numbers of jobseekers are moving or thinking
about moving for work.

calculated the monthly

When Europeans look for jobs outside theirshare of all searches

home countries, they tend to search mainly

by jobseekers withwithin Europe. But other parts of the world

IP addresses in theare frequent destinations too. From January

European Economic

to April 2022, Europe was the destination for

Area, Switzerland or the UK who searched

62% of cross-border searches by Europeans,on an Indeed site in another country. We

followed by North America (26%), Asia (8%),

excluded countries without an Indeed site

Oceania (2%), Africa (1%) and South America— such as Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia,(0.6%). Antarctica came last with a share of just

Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia.

0.01%. Jobs in Antarctica are mainly technicalBy definition, all searches on Indeed by users

roles at polar stations.

4%3%

WHO declares
global pandemic

2%
2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

located in those countries are cross-border.
We used anonymised information on over 800
million cross-border job searches carried out on
Indeed between January 2019 and April 2022.

22

Source: Indeed
Europe defined as the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK23

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Europe is also increasingly a destination
for jobseekers from outside the continent
It’s not just Europeans who have been

2020, the share fell as low as 31% below

searching more for jobs in other countries.

the 2017-2019 average. But in April 2022,

Jobseekers outside Europe have also been

it rebounded to 38% above the 2017-2019

searching more actively for work on

average (Figure 4). This suggests substantial

the continent.

pent-up demand for moving to Europe for

We analysed the inbound trend by looking at
the monthly share of searches for European
jobs coming from outside the region. Duringwork. For employers, this means accessto global talent and a need to manage thepractical challenges involved in hiring
non-European citizens.

Figure 4 - Interest in European jobs from outside Europe has risen
Figure1 -a share
Restrictions
onforinternational
Searches from outside
Europe asof all searches
European jobs on Indeed to April 2022
travel have eased across Europe
3.0%

WHO declares
global pandemic

Jobseekers
outside Europe
have been
searching more
actively for workon the continent.

The biggest
contribution to therecent rebound camefrom jobseekers in
the United States,
India, Nigeria, Turkey
and the United ArabEmirates. The country
profiles at the end

2.5%of this report contain more details about thecountries of origin of jobseekers looking forwork in selected large European countries.

2.0%

2017-19 average

1.5%

1.0%
2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Source: Indeed
Europe defined as the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK

Biggest contributors to
the recent rebound in searches
for jobs in Europe
1.

United States

2.

India

3.

Nigeria4.

Turkey5.

United Arab Emirates

6.

Canada7.

Pakistan

8.

Brazil9.

Tunisia

10.

Hong Kong
Source: Indeed

24

25

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talentHigh-paying jobs in management,
business, finance and professional
services fuel cross-border mobility
International jobseekers show greater intereston average. This means employers hiring forin some jobs than others. Job postings

those white-collar jobs generally find it easierin management, business, finance andto recruit candidates outside the country thanprofessional services attract higher shares of

employers trying to fill other jobs.

candidates from abroad than other jobs. These
broad categories include jobs in banking andhowever. Figure 5 shows in Germany the sharefinance, engineering, tech and healthcare. In
France, Germany and the UK from January 2019
to April 2022, foreign clicks as a share of total
clicks were more than two times higher in thesecategories than in all jobs: 5.6% versus 2.5%

There are differences among countries,

occupations was 8.6%, higher than in France(4.0%) or the UK (6.2%). French employers thus
appear more reliant on domestic jobseekers
than British or German employers.

Clicks by foreign jobseekers as a share of all clicks on Indeed in France,
Germany and the UK, high-paying jobs vs. other jobs

8.6%

7.5%

6.2%

5.0%

and finance jobs advertised a median annual

occupations with high shares of clicks bysalary of €36,500 (Figure 6). There was aforeign jobseekers offer high pay. In the threesizable gap with other occupations. The next-

countries we looked at, in the first quarterbest-paying category — sales and relatedof 2022, jobs in professional and related

occupations — advertised a median salary ofoccupations advertised a median annual salaryaround €32,000, or 12% less than management,of over €41,600, while management, businessbusiness and finance.

Figure 6 - Salaries vary widely across job categories
Median advertised annual salary by occupational group in France, Germany and the UK in Q1 2022

of foreign clicks on jobs in these white-collar

Figure 5 - High-paying jobs attract foreign jobseekers

10.0%

Importantly, jobs in these white-collar

4.0%

Occupational groups

Median salary in EUR

1. Professional and related occupations

41,645

2. Management, business, and financial operations occupations

36,5003. Sales and related occupations

32,1104. Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations

30,558

5. Construction and extraction occupations (plus other resources)

30,0006. Production occupations

28,023

7. Transportation and material moving occupations

28,023

8. Service occupations

28,023

9. Office and administrative support occupations

25,688

3.3%
2.3%

2.5%

0%

Germany

FranceHigh-paying jobs

26

Source: Indeed

2.3%

United Kingdom
Other jobs

Source: Indeed

Surveys consistently suggest that salary

Nevertheless, as we show in the following

is key in the decision to accept a job offer.

section, factors outside the pay/skills mix

Other things being equal, the better the pay

developed during the pandemic may furthera job offers, the more candidates will apply.

fuel cross-border mobility.

27

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

2. Remote work,labour shortages
and geopolitics arecatalysts for the
future of crossborder mobility
Pay and skills are perennial issues in theEuropean labour market conversation.
Now, though, employers must also consider
an additional set of questions, including
remote work, labour shortages andgeopolitics. The importance of these factors
has been dramatically amplified during the
pandemic. Data from France, Germany andthe UK show these factors are associatedwith higher cross-border mobility.

28

29

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talentForeign jobseekers are keen on remote jobs
The pandemic boosted remote work all acrossRemote work is one of the drivers of cross-

Europe. Joint research by Indeed and theborder mobility in that it encourages foreign

OECD shows remote job postings surged

jobseekers to look in labour markets otherdramatically during the pandemic in almost all

than those of their home countries. Moreover,large industrialised countries and remain highin France and Germany, the trend has been

in 2022, especially in occupations for which

up. Foreign jobseekers have increasingly been

remote work is easy to implement. Searchesdrawn to remote jobs, thanks to a big boost

for remote jobs are also above historical levels.

when the pandemic struck Europe in theBoth employers and candidates continue tofirst half of 2020. In both countries, foreign

express keen interest in remote work.

jobseeker interest has fallen from pandemic

In France,
Germany andthe UK, foreign
jobseekers aremuch more
likely to search
for remote jobs
than domestic
jobseekers.

Because remote jobs

By contrast, the trend in foreign jobseekers’

done from anywhere,

relative interest in remote jobs has been

they are a particular

negative in the UK since the onset of thedraw for foreign

pandemic. It is possible that Brexit and thejobseekers. Recentchanges to immigration rules altered thedata show evidencecomposition of the foreign jobseeker pool.

of this: in France,

However, foreign jobseekers are still more

Germany and thelikely to search for remote jobs in the UK

UK, the foreign

than their domestic counterparts.

is higher than for all jobs (Figure 7). We define
searches for remote jobs as those that containkeywords related to remote work, such as“remote” or “work from home”. On average
from January 2019 to April 2022, foreign
jobseekers were nearly 2.6 times more likely tosearch for remote jobs in France than domestic
jobseekers, nearly 1.9 times more likely in the
UK and 1.7 times more likely in Germany. Job
applications follow a similar pattern, showingthat foreign jobseeker interest in remotejobs is genuine.

Searches by foreign jobseekers as a share of all searches on Indeed
in France, Germany and the UK, remote jobs vs. all jobs

12%
10.3%

peaks but remains higher than in 2019.

can theoretically bejobseeker share of searches for remote jobs

Figure 7 - Foreign jobseekers represent a highshare of searches for remote jobs

Does this mean British, French and German

8%

7.6%

7.4%

4.7%
4.0%

4%

3.9%

employers will increasingly offshore jobs thatcan be performed remotely? In practice, factors
such as regulation, cultural differences, local
knowledge, language and time zone conflicts
can be powerful barriers to hiring remoteworkers in other countries. But, as more global
companies let employees work anywhere,
resources to help employers deal with thelegal, tax and HR aspects of managing a global
remote workforce are proliferating. Job search

0%Germany

FranceRemote jobs

United Kingdom
Other jobs

patterns suggest that, as these obstacles are
overcome, positions that offer remote work
have substantial potential to attract a global

Source: Indeed

pool of candidates.

30

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Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Figure 8 - Hard-to-fill job categories
in France, Germany and the UK

Hard-to-fill jobs get more clicks fromforeign jobseekers than the average job
Labour shortages have been one factor

One way to identify hard-to-fill jobs in France,slowing economic recovery after the pandemic.

Germany and the UK is to check which

Customer-facing jobs have been among those

occupations have low numbers of clicks per job

with the greatest reported hiring difficulties.

posting on the Indeed sites in these countries.

Even in normal times, labour shortages in

The job categories that have low clicks per

specific sectors can significantly hamper

posting differ slightly across countries due

Some countries— notably
Germany andpost-Brexit UK —have immigration
policies based on
their perceived
labour market
needs.

economic activity.

to labour market variation. However, some

Foreign workers

categories are common in all three countries,

can help alleviate

including nursing, medicine, information design

this problem. Someand documentation, and software development

countries — notably(Figure 8). The hard-to-fill mix in France isGermany and post-

characterised by a higher share of jobs that

Brexit UK — have

pay relatively less well, such as construction,

immigration policies

production and manufacturing, and installation

based on theirand maintenance occupations. By contrast,

perceived labour

many hard-to-fill jobs in the UK appear tomarket needs, allowing

require high qualifications (e.g. banking andemployers in certain sectors to hire foreign

finance, education & instruction, insurance,

workers with the right skills.

legal or management). Germany is in anintermediate position, with a mix of highskilled and less skilled occupations.

JobcategoryHard
to fill

Accounting

DE FR

Banking & Finance

DE UK

Construction

DE FR

Education & Instruction
Information Design & Documentation

DE FR UK
DE FR

Insurance

DE UK

IT Operations & Helpdesk

DE FR

Legal

DE UK

Management

FR UK

Mechanical Engineering

DE UK

Nursing

DE FR UK

PharmacyFR
DE FR UK

Production & Manufacturing

FR

Real Estate

UK

Software Development
TherapyHighpayingUK

Installation & MaintenancePhysicians & Surgeons

Remotecompatible

DE FR UK
FR UK

Source: Indeed

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Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

As with remotejobs, hard-tofill occupations
are more likely
to see interest
from foreign
jobseekers
than otheroccupations.

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Since the pandemic,

As with remote jobs, hard-to-fill occupations

hard-to-fill occupations

are more popular with foreign jobseekers thanare also more likely toother occupations. Foreign jobseekers who

pay high wages because

search on Indeed’s Germany or UK sites are

employers have had torespectively 2.6 and 2.5 times more likely to click

boost compensation

on ads for hard-to-fill jobs than easier-to-fillto counter labourjobs (Figure 9). The ratio is 1.5 times in France,

shortages. Many ofwhere the unemployment rate is higher than inthese jobs are crucial tothe other two countries, easing the general level

economic activity or toof labour shortage.

the wellbeing of the population. Construction(in shortage in France and Germany) or nursing(in shortage in all three countries) are examples.

Figure 9 - Hard-to-fill jobs attract a high share of clicks from abroad
Clicks by foreign jobseekers as a share of all clicks on Indeed in France, Germany and the UK,jobs in hard-to-fill categories vs. other jobs

10.0%

9.5%

7.5%

6.8%

5.0%
3.6%

3.8%

2.5%

0%

Germany

FranceHard-to-fill jobs

34

2.7%

2.5%

United Kingdom
Other jobs

Source: Indeed

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How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Figure 10 - Searches for UK jobs from
Hong Kong surged on policy change

Geopolitical events are having an
impact on job search and migration
Political turmoil, government policy changes

For example, searches for UK jobs from Hongand war shape people’s decisions about

Kong have been high since July 2020, when

where to live and work — even more thanthe UK government offered a special visa andthe condition ofa route to citizenship to around three million

the labour market

residents of the special administrative region

or opportunities toamid political protests against restrictions onwork remotely. Whilecivil liberties (Figure 10). In 2021, requests for

Covid-19 has been aadmission under this status accounted for

defining economic

around 5% of total UK visa applications frominfluence over the pastoverseas. They rose again after visa eligibility

two years, geopoliticalwas expanded in February 2022.

While Covid-19
has beena defining
economic
influenceover the past
two years,
geopoliticalevents are also
influencing
cross-border job
search patterns.

events are also
influencing crossborder job searchpatterns.

Share of all searches from abroad on Indeed in the UK (%)

12%

3 Jun 2020:
UK PM writes in The
Times about opening
a new route to UK
citizenship for many
Hong Kongers

10%

31 Jan 2021:
Hong Kong BN(O) visa
applications open

8%

People from Hong Kong are three-to-fourtimes more likely to click on job postings forsuch occupations as software development,
mechanical engineering and finance than the

30 Jun 2020:
Chinese government
imposes new national
security law

5%average jobseeker. Consequently, UK employers
hiring for those occupations may benefit mostfrom this new source of immigration.

2%

0%

2019

2020

2021

2022

Source: Indeed

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How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Impact of the war in Ukraine oninternational labour markets
War and persecution also drive movements ofin job search patterns. For instance, use of thepeople and can affect economies and labour

new Ukrainian language version of Indeed’s

markets. This year, millions have fled the war

site in Poland — the country that received morein Ukraine. While many refugees are still on

Ukrainian refugees than any other when thethe move and preoccupied with satisfying

war started — increased rapidly from zero tobasic needs like food, shelter and stability, thea substantial share of around 1.5% of all job

repercussions of the conflict are already visible

searches in the country by mid-March (Figure 11).

Figure 12 - Many employers have supported refugees
Has your organisation made special arrangements to support Ukrainian refugees?

Belgium
57%

35%

8%

39%

9%

Switzerland

Figure 11 - Ukrainian language job search in Poland grows
ononinternational
Ukrainian languageFigure
searches1as-aRestrictions
share of all searches
Indeed in Poland, 7-day average (%)
travel have eased across Europe

53%
Germany

7%

45%

48%

2%

IrelandUkrainian language
version of Indeed’s sitelaunched in Poland

15%

39%

46%
Netherlands

1%

5%

50%

45%
UK

0%
01/202240%

02/2022

03/2022

04/202205/2022

52%

8%

51%

12%

FranceSource: Indeed

37%
Italy

While it is not possible to determine whether

The implications are important. Anywhere

jobseekers using the Ukrainian language

in Europe, employers interested in hiring

version of the Indeed site are recent refugees

Ukrainian refugees should be open toor some of the more than one million Ukrainiancandidates with a wide range of skills andnationals already living in Poland, the data

backgrounds. Moreover, these refugees may

suggest urgent, open-ended job search byneed jobs quickly and may consider all kinds ofpeople on the move. The most common search

openings. At the same time, refugee workers

phrases are broad terms like “immediate start”,

looking urgently for income are vulnerable.

“work” and “Ukrainian workers”. In addition,

Authorities should stay alert to ensure they

over 92% of those searches are made fromare not exploited.

0%

10%

20%

9%

62%

29%

30%

Yes

40%

50%

No

60%

70%

80%

90% 100%

Don’t know

Source: Indeed and Censuswide survey of 2780 employers in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK

mobile devices compared with more than the
82% of Polish language searches.

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Figure 13 - Businesses have supported refugees in multiple ways
How has your organisation supported Ukrainian refugees?

Charitable donation

Made suitable jobs more
visible for refugees

Encouraged employee
donations

Fast-track Ukrainian refugee
job applications

Lobbied government
MP over visa rules

Our survey of employers in eight European

Some employers made special recruitment

countries shows a substantial proportion madeefforts. These included making suitable jobs

special arrangements to support Ukrainian

more visible to Ukrainian refugees (fromrefugees. The share ranges from 29% of

24% in France to 53% in the Netherlands) or

responding organisations in Italy to 57% in

fast-tracking job applications (from 18% in

Belgium (Figure 12). Much of that support took

Switzerland to 55% in Italy). Some lobbied

the form of financial contributions (Figure

government or parliamentary representatives

13). One of the most common actions wasover visa rules. The survey suggests employers

a charitable donation, ranging from 41% of

are working actively to open labour markets toemployers who reported giving to charities in

Ukrainian refugees.

Belgium and Switzerland to 68% in Germany.
Encouraging employee donations was also a

Issued public support

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Germany

FranceBelgium

Switzerland

Italy

Netherlands

IrelandUK

70%

Note: Other/Not sure not shown.
Source: Indeed and Censuswide survey of 2,780 employers in Belgium, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK

common response.

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3. Wealthy andopen economies
stand to gain
The trends examined in this reportundoubtably don’t have the same effects
on all countries. Which countries aremost attractive to internationally mobile
jobseekers? Which most stand to benefit?
To answer these questions, it is important
to look at both sides of the equation:
the interest overseas candidates showin particular countries and the interest
jobseekers in those countries have insearching for jobs elsewhere.

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Introducing the net interest score metric:
Brain drain or brain gain?

in 2021, while only 2.5% were incoming. In

These results highlight important issues for

Romania, the job search brain drain was even

employers. Searching for a job abroad has

more alarming. Almost one in two job searches

never been easier. That means employers facein Romania — a full 49.7% — was for jobs

competition for talent not only from within

To rank the competitive positions of different

Switzerland and the UK are well ahead of theoutside the country. Only 6.5% of searches fortheir countries, but also from employers incountries in the labour market, the Indeed

competition in terms of net brain gain.

Romanian jobs were inbound. This is in line withother countries. This underscores how crucial

labour migration data, which show one-fifth

retention of talent is, especially in countries atof Romania’s working-age population resides

risk of brain drain.

Hiring Lab has developed a measure we call
net interest score. This metric considers both acountry’s attractiveness as a destination for job
search among people located in other countries
and the propensity of that country’s jobseekers
to search for jobs abroad. We calculate thenet interest score as the absolute number of
inbound searches

Most European
countries have anegative interest
score, meaning
there are more
outboundsearches
than inboundsearches. ‘Brain
drain’ seems
to be the issue
facing mostcountries, not‘brain gain’.

minus the number ofoutbound searches
divided by the sumof the two. Given the

Among the top three, Luxembourg heavily
relies on international jobseekers: on Indeed’s
Luxembourg site — one of the smallest in

elsewhere in the EU.

Europe — 74% of all searches in 2021 were
inbound from jobseekers outside the country. At

Figure 14 - Net interest score: 2021 (blue) vs. 2019 (orange)

the same time, just 32% of searches conducted

Inbound job searches minus outbound job searches on Indeed, divided by the sum of the two

by jobseekers located in Luxembourg were
outgoing. Switzerland also heavily draws on
global candidates. Some 32% of searches on
Indeed’s Swiss site were from outside thecountry, while 11% were outgoing.

Luxembourg
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Germany

correlation between the

The UK’s large labour market has a heavy

intentions suggested

domestic focus, with only 3.2% of searches forby job search behaviour

UK jobs coming from outside the country inand actual migration

2021 and 1.4% of UK jobseekers searching inFrancepatterns, the net

other countries. While the cross-border share

Belgiuminterest score is anof UK traffic on Indeed was small, the net flow

Spainindicator of whether awas positive. The UK remains an attractive

country’s labour market

destination on the global labour market despite

is likely to gain or losethe decline in interest in British jobs fromtalent in the future.

EU-based candidates after Brexit.

Most European

In Germany, the 2021 shares were 3.9%

IrelandNetherlands

Portugal

SwedenItaly

incoming and 3.7% outgoing. In Ireland, 8.2%

meaning there are more outbound searches

were incoming and 7.9% outgoing. In boththan inbound searches. ‘Brain drain’ seems to be

countries, the net interest scores were close to

the issue facing most countries, not ‘brain gain’balance but slightly positive. In France and theCzechia(Figure 14).

Netherlands, the net interest scores were only

Hungaryslightly negative, suggesting these countries

Finlandmay receive substantial net immigration flows as

GreeceIn 2021, the latest available full year of data,
the biggest net importers of candidates were

the pandemic continues to ebb.

Luxembourg, Switzerland, the UK, Germany

At the other extreme, Romania and Greece had

and Ireland, with more incoming interest

the strongest net negative jobseeker interest. In

from jobseekers than outgoing. Luxembourg,

Greece, 12.2% of all job searches were outgoing

44

Brain gain

Austriacountries have a negative interest score,

There are some notable exceptions, however.

Brain drain

PolandDenmark
NorwayRomania

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0
Source: Indeed

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There are many reasons why some countries

between GDP per capita and a country’s net

are more attractive to jobseekers than others.

interest score. In other words, higher-income

One is a country’s wealth. To avoid bias driven

countries tend to be more powerful magnets

by the pandemic, we examined 2019 data.

for jobseekers than lower-income ones.

Figure 15 shows a strong positive correlation

Figure 15 - Higher-income countries are more
attractive to international jobseekers
Net interest score (y-axis) and real GDP per capita (x-axis) in EUR in 2019

What drives the changes incountry attractiveness?
Changes in net interest score from 2019 to

the European average. Romania is somewhat

2021 are strongly correlated with growth inof an outlier. Postings on Indeed have grown

job postings (Figure 16). Many factors can lead

rapidly, but the country’s net interest scorea country to deviate from this relationship,

has only improved slightly. Romanians are

such as changes in the composition of jobs or

the most mobile Europeans. The country’s

different wage growth trends. But generally net

net interest score trend suggests Romanians

interest score has improved in countries with

continue to look for jobs abroad and are only

higher job posting growth.

slowly beginning to take advantage of growing
domestic job opportunities.

Conversely, net interest score has declined incountries where job posting growth has lagged

1.0

R = 0.56, p = 0.0081

Figure 16 - Countries with higher job posting growth
have seen an improvement in net jobseeker interest

Luxembourg
Switzerland

0.5

Change in net interest score from 2019 to 2021 (y-axis) and job posting growth
on Indeed from Feb 2020 to Dec 2021 (%, x-axis)

United Kingdom

0.20
Germany

0.0

Spain

PolandPortugal
Czechia

0.10

SwedenItaly

Norway-0.5

Denmark
Hungary

Finland

0.05

40000

60000

80000

SwedenGreeceGermany
Ireland
NorwayRomania

FranceBelgium

Austria
Spain

Czechia

-0.15
-0.20

Hungary

Finland
Portugal

-0.10

-0.1

Italy

Switzerland-0.05

Romania

20000

Denmark

Luxembourg

Netherlands

0.00

Greece0

United Kingdom

0.15

Ireland

Belgium
FranceAustria
Netherlands

R = 0.65, p = 0.0014

Poland

10

20

30

40

50

60

Source: Eurostat, Indeed

4670
Source: Indeed

As a country’s job postings grow, its net interest

posting growth doesn’t appear to attract more

score tends to increase because of reduced

jobseekers from abroad. Instead, it makes

outbound job search rather than increased

domestic jobseekers less likely to search for

inbound search. In other words, strong job

opportunities in other countries.
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Figure 17 - Outbound searches remained below
pre-pandemic levels in most countries in 2021
Percentage change in the outbound and inbound search shares from 2019 to 2021

Belgium
Austria
Czechia
Portugal
Switzerland
PolandFranceRomania
Spain
Luxembourg
FinlandNetherlands
GreeceWhat has changed with the pandemic?

Germany

Since the onset of the pandemic, 13 out of 21

The reason? Jobseekers in Germany have

Swedencountries have improved their net interest

focused more on domestic search, probably

score, reducing their brain drain as measured

driven by pandemic restrictions as well as theby job search. However, the pandemic has notcountry’s strong domestic labour market.

fundamentally changed whether a country

Figure 17 shows similar patterns in many othergains or loses jobseeker interest. Germany iscountries. It will be interesting to see how thethe one exception. From 2019 to 2021, Germany

increase in cross-border job search influencesswitched from a near-balanced net interest

these trends as national labour markets recoverscore of 0.001 to a positive net interest score.

further from the pandemic.

Ireland
Hungary
NorwayUnited Kingdom
DenmarkInbound
Outbound

Italy
-40

-20

0

20

Source: Indeed; missing bar means value equals to 0

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4. Employers are
getting readyfor a reboundin internationalmigration
As international mobility and crossborder job search rise, hiring foreign
workers is on the agenda for many
employers. We surveyed businesses
to understand how many of them areplanning to hire foreign workers, why
they are doing so, what they are doing
to attract candidates from abroad andwhat challenges they foresee in hiring
those candidates. We ran the survey
in collaboration with Censuswide ineight countries – Belgium, France,
Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands,
Switzerland and the UK – in the second
half of March 2022.

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European employers are keen tohire foreign workers in 2022
According to the survey, as many as 74% ofaffirmatively. This is slightly more than the 58%

UK businesses, 53% of French businesses andwho reported having hired foreign nationals

51% of German businesses will “definitely”

in the past five years. It seems that jobseekers,or “probably” hire foreign workers in 2022

who are increasingly searching for jobs abroad,(Figure 18). Overall, across the eight countries

will find many employers willing to hire them.

surveyed, 64% of businesses responded

Figure 18 – Many employers are planningto hire foreign workers in 2022
How likely is it, if at all, that your business will actively recruit
foreign nationals for its operations in your country in 2022?

80%

74%

70%

64%

60%
53%

51%

50%
40%

40%
37%
29%

30%
18%

20%
11%

10%

9%

8%

7%

0%
FranceYes

GermanyNo

Don’t know

UK

Overall(8 European
countries)

Yes = “definitely” or “probably”, No = “definitely not” or “probably not”
Source: Indeed and Censuswide survey of 2780 employers in Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland
and the UK

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Figure 19 – Labour shortages are one of the main reasons why
employers plan to hire foreign workers
Employer motivations for hiring foreign

Language skills were followed closely by better

workers vary across countries, but there are

qualifications of foreign nationals (36% overall),some common themes. A labour shortage

which was especially important to businesses

in the domestic labour market was the mostin Switzerland (51%) and Germany (43%). Those

common reason cited in five of the eighttwo countries have very low unemployment

countries in our survey and was the top answer

rates, which means that finding qualified staff

overall, given by 43% of businesses (Figure 19).

in the domestic pool of unemployed people

This was especially

Foreign language
skills were thesecond mostcommonly cited
motive for hiring
foreign workers.

notable in the
Netherlands (57%) andGermany (51%). Bothcountries experienced
fast job postings
growth during therecovery from thepandemic.

Foreign language skills were the second mostcommonly cited motive for hiring foreign
workers (37% overall) and the top answer in
Italy (46%), Switzerland (42%) and France (41%).
In the cases of Italy and France, one reason
might be that fewer working-age adults reportis challenging.
Only around a fifth of businesses cited thewillingness of foreign nationals to accept

What are the reasons why your business will “definitely/probably”
hire foreign nationals in your country?

Labour shortage on thelocal labour market

Required foreign
language skills for ourjob profiles

different hours or working arrangements(21% overall). This was cited most frequently
by businesses in Ireland (29%) and the UK (27%).

Better qualifications offoreign nationals

Finally, 19% of businesses cited lower salary
expectations of foreign nationals.
Overall, the survey results indicate themain reason for hiring foreign nationals
is demand for qualified workers. Foreign

Willingness of foreign
nationals to accept
different hours or working
arrangements

nationals certainly don’t seem to be asecond choice for employers.

Lower salary expectationsof foreign nationals

knowing at least one foreign language thanthe European average, creating barriers to

0%

10%

France

UK

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

communication with colleagues and customers
who don’t speak the national tongue.

Germany

Overall (8 European countries)

Note: Other/Don’t know not shown.
Source: Indeed and Censuswide survey of 2780 employers in
Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK
Chart based on responses from 1779 employers who will actively recruit foreign nationals for their business in 2022

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Figure 20 – Language skills are one of many
challenges in hiring foreign workers
What are the most common challenges when hiring
foreign nationals in your business or in your sector?

Hiring foreign workers can be challenging
Hiring foreign workers isn’t free of difficulties.

Some 20% of employers said they did not know

Of the businesses that will definitely or

how to find foreign candidates. Such employers

probably hire foreign workers this year, 33%

might benefit from using some of the strategies

cited insufficient language skills as a challenge

discussed later in this section. Finally, just 13% of(Figure 20). For 28%, the lack of required

survey respondents said their employees werequalifications or certifications was a problem,

reluctant to work with foreign nationals.

while 27% cited insufficient knowledge of thelocal market. The

Some 73% of
people enjoyedworking withcolleagues fromother countries.

time or cost of legal
procedures required
to hire foreigners
were issues for 22%
of businesses. While
it often takes time forforeign workers tolearn a language, simplifying legal processes
and speeding up recognition of foreign
credentials might be relatively quick ways tofacilitate recruitment of foreign workers.

Employers’ belief that only a small minority of
employees are reluctant to work with foreigncolleagues is consistent with the results of oursurvey of working-age adults in the same eight
countries. Some 73% of people enjoyed working
with colleagues from other countries, 72%
believed that working with foreigners helped
them learn new things and 63% believed foreign
workers had skills that complemented their

Insufficient language skills
Lack of required
qualifications or certifications
for the position
Insufficient knowledgeof the local market
Legal procedures taketoo much time
Legal procedures are
too expensive
Don’t know how or where tofind those candidates
Our employees are reluctant
to work with foreign nationals

own abilities.
There are no challenges whenhiring foreign nationals
We were not satisfied withthe work of foreign nationals
0%
Germany

France5%

10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
UKOverall (8 European countries)

Note: Other/Don’t know not shown.
Source: Indeed and Censuswide survey of 2780 employers in
Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK
Chart based on responses from 1779 employers who will actively recruit foreign nationals for their business in 2022

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Figure 21 – Employers use a wide range ofstrategies to appeal to foreign candidates
What efforts has your business made, if any, to appeal to candidates who are foreign nationals?

Posted job ads abroadBusinesses are taking concrete steps
to attract foreign candidates
We asked businesses that said they would

Language considerations were commonly

definitely or probably hire foreign nationals

cited, with 31% of businesses reporting theyin 2022 what efforts they have made, if any,

hired recruiters who spoke other languages

to appeal to those candidates. The answers

and 26% saying they changed the language

revealed a wide variety of strategies (Figure 21).

of jobs ads. Other strategies related toLanguageconsiderations
were commonly
cited, with 31%
of businesses
reporting they
hired recruiters
who spoke otherlanguages.

Some related to hiring

assimilating foreign employees after they werechannels. Some 33%

hired. Some 23% of businesses changed theof businesses posted

onboarding process to facilitate the integration

job ads abroad, 27%

of foreign workers into the workforce, while

took advantage of

18% offered foreign workers practical help ingovernment schemes

settling down. The fact that no single strategy

that facilitated hiring

was picked by the majority of respondents

foreign workers andsuggests that the recipe of choice for attracting

26% hired foreignforeign workers has multiple ingredients.

recruitment agencies.

Hired recruiters who speakother languages
Took advantage ofgovernment schemes tofacilitate hiring
Changed thelanguage of job ads
Hired foreign
recruitment agencies
Changed the employee
onboarding process
Offered foreign nationals
help in settling down

Germany

0%10%France

UK

20%

30%

40%

50%

Overall (8 European countries)

Note: Other/None/Don’t know not shown.
Source: Indeed and Censuswide survey of 2780 employers in
Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the UK
Chart based on responses from 1779 employers who will actively recruit foreign nationals for their business in 2022

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5. Conclusion:
What dothe shifting
international job
search patterns
mean forrecruitment?
As public health restrictions ease allover the world, cross-border job searchis on the rise. European jobseekers are
increasingly searching for jobs in othercountries and interest from candidates
outside Europe has jumped well above
pre-pandemic levels. This is strong
evidence migration is poised to increase.
Meanwhile, as post-pandemic labour
shortages bite and job vacancies in
Europe’s biggest economies remain at ornear record levels, many employers are
gearing up to hire foreign workers.

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TAKEAWAYS FOR EMPLOYERS

4

1

Cross-border job search has picked up after falling during the pandemic andinternational work-related migration is on the rise. Employers should get
ready for the inflow of foreign candidates. To plan hiring strategies for 2022
and beyond, employers should learn where foreign candidates are from andwhat jobs they’re interested in.

Jobseekers react to geopoliticalevents such as political turmoil

5

Hiring foreign workers isn’t
free of challenges. Among theand war. Employers who wantbiggest are language barriers.

to hire those fleeing armed

To speed up the integration of

conflict and persecution should

foreign staff into the workforce,

be open to candidates with

employers should assess job

wide ranges of skills andlanguage requirements andbackgrounds. They should

consider helping new joiners

streamline the hiring process toimprove their language andaccommodate candidates who

cultural skills.

may need work more urgently
than the average jobseeker.

“To plan hiring strategies for 2022 and beyond, employers
should learn where foreign candidates are from and what jobs
they’re interested in.”2

Remote, high-paying andhard-to-fill jobs tend to receive

3

In today’s tight labour
market, many businesses

high shares of clicks fromare already taking steps tooverseas. Employers hiring

hire foreign workers, such as

for these roles should think

posting jobs abroad, hiring

about ways to attract foreign

recruiters with foreign language

workers as a strategy toskills, taking advantage ofaddress labour shortages.

government schemes or writing
job descriptions in multiple
languages.

62

6

Most employees appear to havean open mindset regarding

7

Last but not least, it’s not justabout attraction — retention

working with colleagues ofmatters too. Many countries

other nationalities. Resentment

see more outbound thanof foreigners is unlikely to be

inbound job search, whicha concern for the majority ofputs them at risk of brain

employers who plan to hiredrain. Employers need to pay

foreign workers this year.

attention to staff member
needs and know the salaries
and working conditions
competitors offer. And theyshould set human resources“Employers need to pay
attention to staff member
needs and know the salaries
and working conditions
competitors offer.”policies accordingly.

63

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talentCountry profiles
Austria
Belgium
FranceGermany
Ireland
Italy

64

Netherlands
PolandSpain
SwedenSwitzerland
UK

65

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed
Report Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Austria

Belgium

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.22

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.344

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.1

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.123

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Outbound search share in 2022:

24.1 %

Inbound search share in 2022:

13.4 %Outbound search share in 2022:

9.2 %Inbound search share in 2022:

7.3 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-10.6 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-6 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-2.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-7.6 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

12.9 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-1.5 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

15.9 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:

0%%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:

41.8 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:

12.2 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:

0%

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Germany

50.8%

Germany

30.3%

United States

13.8%

Hungary

18.2%

Netherlands

Switzerland

9%

Slovakia

5.8%

United States

United Kingdom

6%

Slovenia

5.4%

Luxembourg

France49.2%

22%

Netherlands

15.5%

10.4%

United States

3.2%

9.7%

Spain

3%

30%

Italy

2.4%

Italy

3.7%

United Kingdom

6.6%

Germany

2.8%

Netherlands

2.4%

Czechia

3.4%

Germany

5.4%

Italy

2.4%

Canada2.4%

Croatia

3.1%

Canada3.7%

United Kingdom

2.3%

France1.9%

United Kingdom

2.5%

Switzerland

2.4%

Morocco2%

Hungary

1.9%

Switzerland

2.2%

Italy

1.6%

Tunesia

1.8%

0.6%

Bosnia andHerzegovina

1.6%

Spain

1.5%

TurkeyPolandSource: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?
Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Software Development

Industrial Engineering

Installation & Maintenance

Software Development

Production & Manufacturing

Information Design & Documentation

Food Preparation & Service

Marketing

Project Management

Installation & MaintenanceManagement

Logistic Support

Construction

Mechanical Engineering

Sales

Production & Manufacturing
Management

Non-EU jobseekers

IT Operations & Helpdesk
0%

1.5%

Source: Indeed

Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Loading & Stocking

10%

EU jobseekers

20%

30%

Non-EU jobseekers

Construction
40%
Source: Indeed

66

France-7.6 %

0%

EU jobseekers

5%

10%

15%

20%
Source: Indeed

67

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed
Report Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talentFranceGermany

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.067

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.065

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: 0.033

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: 0.045

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Outbound search share in 2022:

4.2 %Inbound search share in 2022:

3.7 %Outbound search share in 2022:

3.7 %Inbound search share in 2022:

4.1 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-17.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-24.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-18.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-18.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-8.7 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-17.8 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-24.5 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-20.4 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:-8.7 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -17.8 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -24.5 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -16.3 %Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Switzerland

Reunion

38.6%

8.4%

24.2%

Austria

10.2%

Canada10%

Tunesia

7.2%

Switzerland

13.9%

United States

7.1%

Luxembourg

9.8%

Belgium

6.2%

United Kingdom

10.9%

Switzerland

7%

United States

9.1%

Morocco6.1%

France6.5%

Turkey7%

United Kingdom

7.1%

Martinique

4.4%

Netherlands

5.8%

Poland

6.7%

Belgium

6.9%

Spain

4.2%

4.6%

France

5.9%

Germany
United ArabEmirates
Spain

3.2%

United Kingdom

4%

4.1%

Italy

4.3%

2.9%

Italy

4%

CanadaUnited ArabEmirates
Italy

3.8%

Netherlands

4.3%

2.3%

Switzerland

3.8%

Poland

3.6%

Spain

4.3%

1.7%

Germany

3.6%

Austria

3.3%

United Kingdom

Italy

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?
Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Software Development

Software Development

Banking & Finance

Information Design & Documentation

Mechanical Engineering

Physicians & Surgeons

Project Management

MarketingInformation Design & Documentation

Mechanical Engineering

Marketing

Banking & FinanceManagement

IT Operations & Helpdesk

Media & Communications

Project Management
Customer Service

Non-EU jobseekers

Construction
0%

3.6%

Source: Indeed

Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

IT Operations & Helpdesk

EU jobseekers

2%

4%

6%

Non-EU jobseekers

Management
8%
Source: Indeed

68

United States0%

EU jobseekers

5%

10%

15%

20%
Source: Indeed

69

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed
Report Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

IrelandItaly

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: 0.024

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: 0.016

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.313

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.34

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Outbound search share in 2022:

8.6 %Inbound search share in 2022:

8.9 %Outbound search share in 2022:

3.2 %Inbound search share in 2022:

1.6 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-29.5 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-27.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-30.9 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-32 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-30.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-28.3 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-43.6 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-32 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:-36 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -23.2 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -21.2 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -41.8 %Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

42.6%

United Kingdom

United States

23.2%

United States

7%

Canada

8.1%

Spain

5.9%

Australia

4.6%

India

5%

FranceFranceUnited ArabEmirates
Germany

4.2%

France5%Germany

7.3%

Spain

6.5%

3.8%

Italy

4.9%

Spain

6.7%

United States

4.3%

2.1%

Turkey3.6%

Ireland

3.7%

Romania

4.2%

Spain

2%

Germany

3.3%

Canada3.1%

Netherlands

2.8%

Italy

1.6%

Poland3.2%

Netherlands

2.4%

Ireland

2.3%

0.6%

South Africa

2.6%

United ArabEmirates

1.6%

Belgium

PolandSource: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Germany

Switzerland

17.1%

United Kingdom

11.6%

United Kingdom

16.3%

France

10.8%

11.1%

Switzerland

7.8%

11.9%

1.9%

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?
Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Software Development
Management

Information Design & Documentation

Information Design & Documentation

Management

Project Management

Accounting

MarketingInstallation & MaintenanceIndustrial Engineering

Customer Service

Construction

Administrative AssistanceNursing

Food Preparation & Service
Sales

Installation & Maintenance

Non-EU jobseekers

10%

20%

Non-EU jobseekers

Banking & FinanceEU jobseekers

0%

22%

Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Software Development

30%
Source: Indeed70

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

United Kingdom

26.1%

United States

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

0%

EU jobseekers

2%

4%

6%
Source: Indeed

71

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed
Report Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Netherlands

PolandNET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.031

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.067

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.2

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.538

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Outbound search share in 2022:

4.4 %Inbound search share in 2022:

3.9 %Outbound search share in 2022:

10.4 %

Inbound search share in 2022:

3.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-20.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-17.9 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-16.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-11.1 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-18.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-5.1 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

0%%-change from 2019 to 2021:-27 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:-46 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -10.2 %0%%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

United States

22.2%

Belgium

20.4%

United States

26.2%

United Kingdom

15.5%

Germany

14.7%

United Kingdom

Germany

10.4%

Turkey5.7%

Germany

Belgium
United ArabEmirates
Poland

9.9%

Spain

5.6%

Canada5.8%

Curacao

4.9%

Ireland

3.8%

France3%

5.6%

United Kingdom

4.7%

France

2.8%

Ireland

2.4%

29.1%

26%

Netherlands

20.6%

18%

United Kingdom

14.8%

7.4%

Ukraine

3.2%

France

5.6%

France

4.6%

Netherlands

2.5%

United States

2.2%

4.7%

United States

4.2%

Switzerland

1.8%

Belgium

2.2%

Spain

2.2%

Italy

3.8%

Italy

1.8%

Italy

2.1%

2%

Poland

2.6%

United ArabEmirates

1.4%

NorwaySource: Indeed

Source: Indeed

1.5%

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?

Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Software Development

Software Development

Mechanical Engineering

Installation & MaintenanceIndustrial Engineering

Construction

Scientific Research & Development

Driving

Information Design & Documentation

Loading & Stocking

Electrical Engineering

Production & Manufacturing

MarketingInformation Design & Documentation

Logistic Support

Management

Project Management

Customer Service

Non-EU jobseekers

Civil Engineering0%Germany

CanadaItaly

EU jobseekers

5%

10%

Non-EU jobseekers

Sales
15%
Source: Indeed

72

55.2 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:0%

EU jobseekers

3%

6%

9%
Source: Indeed73Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed
Report Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Spain

SwedenNET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.129

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.097

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: -0.287

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: -0.324

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

8%

Inbound search share in 2022:

6.7 %Outbound search share in 2022:

5.1 %Inbound search share in 2022:

2.7 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-19.8 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-34.5 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-21.2 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-25.6 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-13.2 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-28.7 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-25.8 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-28.2 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:-12.1 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:

Outbound search share in 2022:-23 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -30.8 %Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

United Kingdom

23.4%

Colombia

11.4%

United States

30.5%

United States

22.9%

France13.1%

France10%

United Kingdom

19.1%

Finland

8.1%

Italy

9.2%

Germany

7%

Germany

7.4%

Germany

8.1%

Argentina

8.5%

France

5.5%

Spain

6.8%

Ireland5.1%

United Kingdom

6.1%

Canada5.3%

Norway6.5%

Netherlands

3.8%

United States

5.3%

4.7%

United States

6.5%

Canada3.8%

Germany

5.2%

4.3%

Denmark

5.7%

Italy

3.6%

Mexico4%Denmark
United ArabEmirates
Norway3.4%

France

5.2%

Switzerland

2.2%

Peru

4%

Netherlands

2.4%

Italy

3.3%

1.5%

Portugal

3%

Ireland2%

TurkeyBelgium

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

8.1%

3.1%

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?
Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Software Development

Software Development

Information Design & Documentation

Physicians & Surgeons

IT Operations & Helpdesk

Management

MarketingAccounting

Management

Project Management

Banking & Finance

Administrative Assistance

Customer Service

Education & Instruction

Sales

Sales
Installation & Maintenance

Non-EU jobseekers

Accounting0%

United Kingdom

Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Industrial Engineering

EU jobseekers

5%

10%

15%

Non-EU jobseekers

Nursing
20%
Source: Indeed

74%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -22.7 %0%

EU jobseekers

2.5%

5%

7.5%

10%
Source: Indeed

75

Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed
Report Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

SwitzerlandUK

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: 0.599

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: 0.606

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

NET INTEREST SCORE
2021: 0.399

OUTBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Jan-Apr 2022: 0.474

INBOUND JOB SEARCH:

Outbound search share in 2022:

11.4 %

Inbound search share in 2022:

34.4 %Outbound search share in 2022:

1.4 %Inbound search share in 2022:

3.9 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-6.9 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:

6.6 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-27.3 %%-change from 2019 to 2020:-8.8 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

4%%-change from 2019 to 2021:

17.3 %%-change from 2019 to 2021

-36.4 %%-change from 2019 to 2021:-5.9 %

12.9 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: 26.9 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: -36.4 %%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022: 14.7 %Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Where would domestic
jobseekers like to work?

Which foreign jobseekers arecontributing the most?

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 destination countries by share ofoutbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022

Top 10 origin countries by share of
inbound searches in Jan-Apr 2022%-change from 2019 to Jan-Apr 2022:

Germany

25.7%

France64.7%

France22.6%

Germany

11.4%

United States

15.4%

Italy

9%

United States
United ArabEmirates
IrelandUnited Kingdom

9.3%

Austria

1.6%

Canada

9.1%

India

11%

United States

9.1%

9.4%

Ireland

5.3%

France

3.8%

11.8%

Italy

8.3%

United States

1.2%

Australia

6.8%

Spain

3.5%

Canada

3.6%

Spain

1.1%

France5.3%

Hong Kong

3.2%

Portugal
United ArabEmirates
Spain

2%

United Kingdom

0.9%

Germany

2.9%

Germany

2.9%2%

Belgium

0.7%

Italy

2.7%

Poland2.8%

1.5%

Portugal

0.6%

Spain

2.1%

Italy

2.7%

1.2%

Liechtenstein

0.5%

Poland1.3%

South Africa

Netherlands

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Source: Indeed

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?

Which jobs have the highest share of foreign jobseekers?
Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Software Development

Software Development

Installation & Maintenance

Information Design & Documentation

Information Design & Documentation

Nursing

Construction

Mechanical Engineering

Physicians & Surgeons

Banking & FinanceAccounting

Media & Communications

Project Management

MarketingFood Preparation & Service

Project Management
IT Operations & Helpdesk

Non-EU jobseekers

Sales
0%

2.6%

Source: Indeed

Top 10 occupational groups by clicks from abroad as a share of all clicks in Jan-Apr 2022

Banking & FinanceEU jobseekers

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

Non-EU jobseekers

Legal
60%
Source: Indeed

76

34.5%

0%

EU jobseekers

5%

10%

15%

20%
Source: Indeed

77Brain gain or drain? 2022 Indeed Report

How shifts in international job search are accelerating global competition for talent

Methodology
Indeed is the world’s largest job site with over 250

ClicksThe number of job postings on Indeed.com, whether

million unique visitors every month (ComScore, Total

A click is the user action of clicking on a job posting

related to paid or unpaid job solicitations, is not

Visits, March 2021). It operates in over 60 countries
and 28 languages.
ScopeThis report is based on the largest dataset of its kind,
containing anonymised information on over 800
million cross-border job searches carried out on Indeed
between January 2019 and April 2022, and over 100
million job postings. We complement the Indeed datawith publicly available data on migration and publicin the search results, which opens up the full job
description. We interpret this as a demonstrationof interest in a specific listed position. Although theintensity of the interest is difficult to measure, theaggregated volume of clicks categorised by type ofjob posting (occupation, salary, whether the posting isremote or not, etc.) can provide useful insights. Like inthe case of searches, data on clicks is anonymised andcannot be tracked back to individual users.

health restrictions and GDP, as well as insights derived

Job postingsfrom surveys of employers and workers carried out

The job posting data we use for research is from publicly

by Indeed and Censuswide in eight countries in March2022.
For the purposes of this analysis, we define Europe as
the European Economic Area plus Switzerland and the
UK. The European Economic Area consists of the 27
countries of the European Union as well as the three
countries of the European Free Trade Association:
Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Indeed data
Our analysis of Indeed data focuses on aggregated andanonymised data on job postings shown on Indeed sitesaround the world, as well as jobseeker search behaviouron those sites.
Job searches
A job search takes place when a user enters a query in
the “What?” and/or the “Where?” search boxes on an
Indeed website. User information is anonymised andaggregated, so that it cannot be tracked to individual
users. Any automated searches are removed in order tocapture genuine jobseeker activity.
The Indeed country website used for the search isrecorded, as well as the country of the user’s IP location.
This is relevant to define domestic and cross bordersearches. A domestic search is one performed by a user
whose IP location is in the same country as the Indeed

available information shown on the relevant Indeed
website. It is important to note that we are not restricted
to advertisers on Indeed. Instead, Indeed also collects
job postings from thousands of internet sources andde-duplicates them so that when the same job iscollected from multiple sources it is shown only once tolimit double-counting.
In order to obtain insights from job postings, weuse a custom taxonomy that classifies postings into

indicative of potential revenue or earnings of Indeed,
which comprises a significant percentage of the HR
Technology segment of its parent company, Recruit
Holdings Co., Ltd. Job posting numbers are provided for
information purposes only and should not be viewed
as an indicator of performance of Indeed or Recruit.
Please refer to the Recruit Holdings investor relations
website and regulatory filings in Japan for more detailed

Survey data
To understand how businesses and individuals arethinking about hiring and working with foreign workers,
we surveyed employers and working-age adults ineight European countries – Belgium, France, Germany,
Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the
UK – in the second half of March 2022. The survey was
run in collaboration with Censuswide. Sample sizes areprovided below.

information on revenue generation by Recruit’s HR
Technology segment.
Frequently asked questions about Indeed data are
available on the Indeed Hiring Lab website.

Businesses:

Individuals:

Belgium: 251

Belgium: 1000

France: 501

France: 2000

Germany: 502

Germany: 2000

Italy: 257

Italy: 1000

Ireland: 250

Ireland: 1000

Netherlands: 250

Netherlands: 1000

Switzerland: 255

Switzerland: 1000

UK: 514

UK: 2000

occupational categories based on job titles. In thisreport, to be able to compare occupation-level data
for France, Germany and the UK in a meaningful way,
we only use categories that accounted for at least
0.1% of all job postings in 2019. In all other countries,
we additionally used occupational categories that
accounted for a smaller proportion of total job postings,
as long as they had a minimum of 1,000 postings per
year. A full list of categories is available in the Indeed job
postings tracker, which shows regularly updated trends
in job postings for a selection of countries.
We also extract data on advertised salaries from job
postings that contain such information. In this report
we only use data from postings that listed an annual
salary in Q1 2022 to give a flavour of the distributionof advertised pay across occupational categories in
Europe’s largest economies.

website on which they performed the search. A crossborder search is one performed by a user located in acountry different from the one of the Indeed websiteused to perform the search.

78

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