The world's economic superpowers such as the USA, Germany, China, and Japan are the first countries that will probably come to your mind if you're looking to boost your career overseas. However, have you thought about your chances of being hired abroad according to the skills in demand? To help you choose your next destination, Expat.com gives you an insight into current global recruitment trends according to a recent survey conducted by Manpower Group in 44 countries around the globe.
Europe
To date, recruiters are optimisic about the UK, Germany, and France being the primary job pools in Europe, as evidenced in the survey. In France, many career prospects are available in the manufacturing and construction sectors. Moreover, the construction sector in Germany has experienced the most significant employment growth since earlier this year. In the UK on the other hand, business and finance have slowed down due to uncertainties relating to Brexit. In all cases, most European countries seem to be quite open to hiring in the coming months.
For those looking to move to the Netherlands or Switzerland, industry, construction, and manufacturing are sectors with the most prospects. Switzerland is a particularly popular expat destination not only for the numerous opportunities available but also for the quality of life in spite of a high cost of living.
Hotel and hospitality professionals should instead turn to Belgium or Spain, whose labour market is gradually recovering from the global economic crisis aftermath. In Nordic countries such as Sweden and Norway, recruiters are more confident regarding employment growth in finance, business services, and construction thanks to strong hiring policies. Bulgaria and Austria are also expecting significant employment growth in the manufacturing sector in the coming months.
Americas
Canada, without any doubt, remains the top expat destination in North America not only for its cultural and linguistic diversity but also for the number of career prospects available for each and everyone. While the Canadian labour market is an open one, jobs are available in virtually all sectors including industry, transportation, utilities, and public administration. The US labour market also preserves its dynamism with positions available in hospitality, and professional and business services, which helps boost employer confidence. Transportation, utilities, as well as wholesale and retail trade, are a few more promising fields in the USA.
In Mexico, on the other hand, recruitment has slowed down in spite of job opportunities in fields like transportation and communication, and mining and extraction. The sharpest drop for the past seven years was recorded in the construction sector.
Regarding Latin America, which is a popular destination with Western professionals, where are you more likely to thrive? Probably not in Brazil where the labour market has been unstable for some time now. You could perhaps turn to Argentina or Peru who can both boast about positive forecasts in practically all industries. Also, if you haven't given it a thought yet, Central America can be a good start. Many jobs are currently available in transportation and communication, construction, and services sectors, especially in Costa Rica and Guatemala.
Asia
Needless to say that Japan remains one of the most attractive countries for foreign professionals, not only for job opportunities but also for its great diversity. It's worth noting that hiring forecasts in Japan are today at their highest points for the past decade, with most vacancies in manufacturing and services sectors. Japan is followed by Taiwan where finance, insurance, real estate, and manufacturing jobs are abundant, like in Hong Kong. Also, services remain one of the most promising fields in Hong Kong.
Attractive salaries and other benefits have been attracting highly qualified foreign professionals to Singapore, where finance, insurance, and real estate are booming sectors, even though the cost of living is one of the highest in the world. China also shows an upward trend in hiring, since all industries, including services, wholesale, and retail trade, will be the leading job providers for the next three years.
Oceania
Australia and New Zealand are also among the top destinations for qualified expats. However, the grass is not necessarily greener on that side. Even though job opportunities exist in various sectors including services and public administration, and in most regions except Northern Territories, recruitment forecasts for Australia are stable, which means that little improvement should be expected in coming months.
On the other hand, the recruitment trend in New Zealand has slowed down, bringing it to its lowest in the past nine years. Thus, it might not be such a good idea to turn to New Zealand to work for the time being in spite of its attractiveness, with the quality of life and a clean environment being key factors.
