Companies hire around the world to build leadership teams and international structure.
The Global Workforce Report
Global hiring for small teams starts with a need, not a milestone.
We analyzed 2026 international hiring activity across the Justworks platform to see where small businesses are hiring, which roles they prioritize, and what the data reveals about building teams across borders.
What we found challenges the traditional idea of global hiring as a late-stage growth milestone. Small and midsize businesses are hiring internationally to solve immediate business needs; finding hard-to-source talent, supporting customers in new markets, and scaling operations. Global hiring has become a practical workforce tool, not just an expansion strategy.
A few ways to explore this report |
|---|
Nearly 3 in 10 small businesses already hire internationally. See what’s driving them in Section 1 |
Engineering accounts for nearly 31% of international hires. Explore which roles and levels lead in Section 2 |
Canada leads in hiring volume, but each market has different strengths. Explore country and regional hiring patterns in Section 3 |
Employee or contractor—and how should you plan your next hire? Compare hiring models in Sections 4, then use the practical planning framework in Section 5 |
Think you need a local entity, or wondering when it’s time to hire globally? Explore your options in Section 6 and the signals to watch in Section 7 |
New to global hiring? Every section works as a standalone primer.
Already scaling internationally? Look for the green tips to see where Justworks fits in.
Section 1
Why Small Teams Hire Globally
Nearly 3 in 10 small businesses already have at least one international employee or contractor. But for many small teams, going global doesn’t start with a formal expansion plan—it starts with a need. A hard-to-fill role. A valued employee relocating. The right candidate who happens to live somewhere else.
Our research shows that small businesses are increasingly looking beyond borders to get specific work done:engineering alone accounts for nearly 31% of all international hires on the Justworks platform. Sales follows at 10.8%. HR and Finance combined represent less than 2%. Teams aren’t hiring internationally to build org structure, they’re filling a practical business need.
The three triggers behind a global hire
The most common trigger. When teams can’t find the right engineers at home, they widen the search. Engineering’s 31% share of international hires reflects exactly this.
Common
Misconception
What the
Data Says
Nearly 70% of international hires are individual contributors. Small businesses expand globally to add execution capacity—not management layers.
3 in 10 Hire Globally
Global hiring isn't just an enterprise strategy anymore. Our 2024 research found that 3 in 10 SMBs have at least one international employee or contractor, and about 1 in 5 have both.
Section 2
What Roles Teams Hire Internationally
If global hiring is about getting specific work done, the role data shows exactly which work. Engineering leads by a wide margin, followed by specialized and commercial roles.
Individual contributors drive global growth
One of the most consistent patterns across every market is how hiring skews toward individual contributors. In Canada, our largest global hiring market, more than 57% of international hires are ICs, and that pattern holds across nearly every country in the data.
Managers and executives appear, but as a secondary layer. Small teams expand globally to add capability, not structure, people who can contribute immediately: engineers who ship, salespeople who close, support reps who resolve.
Helpful reads:
Section 3
Where SMBs Are Actually Hiring
When you look at hiring volume across Justworks customers, five countries account for the majority of activity: Canada leads by a wide margin, followed by the United Kingdom, Mexico, India, and Spain. But volume only tells part of the story. The more useful insight is what roles teams hire in each market, and where each country over-indexes compared to the global average. That’s where the real pattern emerges.
Country Snapshot
The largest hiring market by volume and the most balanced across role functions. Engineering leads at 33%, followed by Sales (11.7%), Executive (8.9%), and Product (5.3%). For teams making their first international hire—or building across multiple functions—Canada is the most flexible expansion market in the dataset.
Over-index: Balanced across functions—a strong first-market choice.
Go deeper:
Regional trends to watch
The country data lines up with the broader regional patterns we’re seeing across Justworks customers. These three regional breakdowns go deeper on the industries and roles gaining traction in each market.
India leads for engineering, AI, and biotech, the Philippines for customer support and legal talent, and Singapore as a strategic APAC hub.
Bilingual professionals in time zones aligned with the US. Brazil for engineering and analytics, Colombia for financial and consumer services, plus Costa Rica, Chile, and Peru.
The UK for AI and beauty, Spain for a government-backed startup ecosystem, the Netherlands for mission-driven and tech teams, and Ireland for biotech and nonprofit talent.
Canada leads by a wide margin, the most balanced market in our data. Mexico adds a highly diversified execution profile, with time zones aligned to the U.S.
Section 4
EOR or Contractor? Choosing the Right Model
Every global hire comes with a second decision: employee or contractor? The right answer depends on the role, the market, and how long you need the person. Here’s how to think about it as a small business owner.
Consideration | Full-time employee (EOR) | Contractor |
|---|---|---|
Best for | Core, long-term roles central to your product or growth | Project-based, specialized, or variable work |
Example from the data | Engineers in India, support teams in the Philippines | A short-term specialist or a pilot in a new market |
The Justworks Experience | Local payroll, taxes, statutory and localized benefits, compliant contracts | Fast and simple onboarding, Payments in local currency or USD, clean reporting |
Commitment | Ongoing employment relationship | Flexible, engagement-based |
A simple rule of thumb: if the role is core to how you build or grow, and you want it for the long haul, hire an employee through EOR. If the work is bounded, exploratory, or seasonal, start with a contractor.
Tip: Not sure yet? Start someone as a contractor to test the fit, then convert to a full-time employee through EOR as the role solidifies. You can do both on one platform, so switching models doesn’t mean switching systems.
Helpful reads:
Section 5
How to Think About Your First (or Next) Global Hire
The patterns in this data push back against how global expansion is usually framed, as a cost decision, or a complexity decision. In practice, we see our customers start with the role. What does this person need to accomplish? Which market best supports that work?
The most successful global hires begin with a specific job to be done, then match it to the market with the deepest talent for it, like India for engineering, the Philippines for support, or the UK for commercial roles.
Tip: Not sure whether a role should be an employee or a contractor? Justworks supports both full-time employees through EOR and contractors in key talent markets around the world, so you can start flexibly and change course as the role evolves.
Helpful reads:
Section 6
Do I Need a Legal Entity to Hire Internationally?
Many small business owners think that hiring in a new country means you have to set up a legal entity there. For a founder, that means months of paperwork, legal and accounting fees, and ongoing maintenance, before a single person is hired. By the time you’re ready, the candidate may be gone and the market may have moved.
An Employer of Record removes that barrier entirely. Justworks already has the infrastructure in place, so you can hire compliantly in weeks and skip the entity until it actually makes sense for your business.
What Justworks handles for you
Locally compliant employment agreements that reflect the requirements of each market- Local payroll, tax withholding and filings, and required employer contributions
- Statutory benefits and leave administration based on local employment requirements
- IP and confidentiality protections built-in
- Employment through Justworks-owned EOR entities, giving you direct accountability and a consistent partner rather than relying on third-party EOR providers
- In-house HR and compliance expertise to help you navigate country-specific employment requirements as questions come
Tip: Misclassifying an employee as a contractor is one of the most common, and most expensive, mistakes in global hiring. Hiring through an EOR removes that risk by making the worker a compliant, full-time employee from day one.
Helpful reads:
Section 7
When to Make Your First Global Hire
Most founders assume global hiring is something you earn your way into, after the funding round, after the ops team, after the playbook exists. The data says otherwise. Teams hire internationally the moment a specific problem shows up, not once they feel ready.
So how do you know it’s time? Watch for the same three signals that show up across Justworks customers:
If a role has sat open for weeks, especially an engineering one, the talent gap is your signal. Engineering makes up nearly 31% of international hires for exactly this reason.
Tip: You don’t need a local entity or an in-house HR team to make your first international hire. With Justworks EOR, you can hire a full-time employee abroad in weeks—not the months an entity setup would take.
Helpful reads:
Section 8
How Justworks Supports Global Hiring
The patterns in this data reflect a specific reality: small teams hire internationally for immediate impact, in roles that need to contribute fast, often without an existing entity in that country. That requires a way to hire compliantly without slowing everything down.
Justworks combines EOR and contractor solutions in one platform, with transparent pricing designed for growing teams. Whether you’re hiring your first engineer in India, scaling a support team in the Philippines, or building a commercial presence in the UK, Justworks removes the operational friction that would otherwise slow those hires down.
With Justworks EOR, you can:
- Hire full-time employees around the world without setting up a local entity
- Pay employees in their local currencies
- Stay compliant with local labor laws and tax regulations
- Offer localized benefits tailored to each country
- Onboard faster and manage everything from a single platform
Not ready to hire full-time? Our international contractor solution is quick to set up and allows you to easily schedule payments to contractors in their local currency or USD.
Explore the platform:
“Justworks' customers don’t expand globally because it’s on a roadmap. They hire internationally because they need a solution right now.”
Section 9
Ready to Hire Where the Talent Is?
Global hiring doesn’t have to be complicated. Wherever your next hire is, an engineer in India, a support team in the Philippines, a commercial lead in the UK, Justworks meets you there.
Not a Justworks customer yet?
See how Justworks can simplify hiring across borders.
Already scaling internationally with Justworks?
Talk to our team about expanding into a new market.
Are you an accountant, broker, or advisor?
Support your clients’ global growth through the Justworks Partner Program.