U.S. Companies Now Hiring Across 3.5 Countries on Average

Finding the right person for the job used to mean searching your city, maybe your state. Now American companies are looking everywhere, and it's solving real problems.

Six out of ten U.S. business leaders say finding qualified local talent is harder than it was just a year ago. The skills companies need aren't evenly distributed, and waiting around for the perfect local candidate can mean missing crucial business goals entirely.

Nearly half of U.S. leaders report that talent shortages have already cost them at least one major objective. Product launches got delayed. Expansion plans stalled. Revenue targets slipped through their fingers because they couldn't fill key roles in time.

So companies widened their search. The average U.S. business now employs people across 3.5 countries, almost identical to the global average of 3.6 countries. A decade ago, that would have raised eyebrows. Today, it's becoming standard operating procedure.

Forty-five percent of U.S. companies hired internationally in the last six months, according to Remote's 2025 Global Workforce Report surveying over 3,600 business leaders worldwide. Half plan to do it again in the next six months. Only 15 percent stick exclusively to domestic talent.

The shift isn't about ideology or trend chasing. It's about keeping projects moving and finding people who already understand the markets you're trying to reach.

The Ripple Effect

This transformation is creating opportunities on both sides of the border. American workers are gaining exposure to global markets and building experience that spans time zones and cultures. That kind of collaboration is quickly becoming expected rather than exceptional.

For job seekers anywhere, geography matters less than it used to. Talented people in smaller cities or different countries can now access roles that were once locked to specific zip codes. The competition is broader, but so is the opportunity.

Three-quarters of U.S. leaders expect that more than half of their 2026 hires will be based outside the country. Distributed teams keep work flowing around the clock, with engineering advancing overnight and customer support never sitting idle.

The companies adapting fastest aren't debating whether global hiring makes sense. They're already building systems around it, gaining speed while others hesitate.

For workers everywhere, the message is clear: your next great opportunity might come from anywhere, and the team you join could span continents.