Deel: As salaries rise globally contract terminations decline

Layoffs – something most employees worry about, but are no longer surprised by when companies announce the axing of staff to adhere to budget cuts.

Although it may seem like jobs are being lost left, right and center, new research from Deel’s State of Global Hiring Report shares some optimistic news: there were 52% fewer involuntary terminations in November 2023 than January 2023.

However, in December 2023 about 40% of all contracts ended in termination, but currently, in January 2024, this figure is hovering at around 60%.

“Although these layoffs may paint a bleaker picture of what’s to come this year, the labor market does show signs of optimism,” Matt Monette, UK&I Country Lead at Deel explains.

Our data finds that salaries are on the rise globally, and, as businesses look to keep pace with the acceleration of new technologies like AI, they are hiring for more roles in technical areas including data analyst, software engineer and software developer.”

In fact, the average salary in USD increased across all new job contracts created in EMEA (7%), LATAM (2%) and APAC (1%).

Additionally, teaching saw the largest increase in salaries in 2023 with a 24% rise. In contrast, sales teams only saw an 8% pay rise.

Monette continues to explain that the job market is currently witnessing an increase in talent mobility, with Deel’s report showing that more employees are taking full advantage of remote and hybrid working. The UK therefore ranks fourth in employee visa applications, right behind the UAE, Netherlands and France.

Consequently, UK talent is most likely to be hired by companies in the US, UK, Sweden and Canada, positioning the country as a front-runner in the global talent landscape as business leaders in the region find value in strategic resourcing.

HR leaders need to tap into the right talent pools

For years now, the business world has been faced with economic uncertainty – it’s been a turbulent time. It’s therefore unsurprising to see that there has been long-term disruption to the structure of talent within organizations.

But with this being the case, the job market still presents HR leaders across the globe with a number of opportunities.

“For HR leaders looking to plug skills gaps and fill newly created technology-led roles, it’ll be important for people teams to widen the talent pools they’re searching from within,” Monette says.

“This means tapping into pools recently impacted by layoffs and being open to hiring from other countries, too.”

Although these skills gaps can be filled by hiring from overseas, Monette warns that this approach should be taken with caution, with compliance and employee growth kept front of mind.

HR Leaders will need to combine this change in hiring strategy, with tailored employee learning and development programs that focus on helping businesses to plug the skills gaps that need filling,” he concludes.

“In doing so, it becomes possible to implement internal mobility programs – vital to talent retention – to support employees in applying for other roles within the business as their careers continue to progress.”