Key immigration trends for 2023

In what has become a crazy environment for talent over the last few years, many companies are wondering what to even look for as they fight to meet their 2023 talent goals. The latest from Manpowergroup's Employment Outlook Survey Report  explains that global demand for talent remains resilient and the race for skills continues. In fact, the global talent shortage is expected to grow as the year moves forward!

Companies that rely on overseas talent are looking at the latest trends reports to better understand what to expect. Even as waves of layoffs continue among major tech companies, employer demand for high-skilled foreign workers is expected to reach a new high for the third straight year. Additionally, we have been hearing that U.S. passport processing times have increased ahead of a huge summer travel season, compounded by a shortage of work visas. 

From the recent 2023 Immigration Trends Report from Envoy Global, let's consider a few interesting (and maybe even disheartening) findings:

• In 2022, 78% of companies instituted a hiring freeze and 51% laid off foreign national employees. 
• Right now, 87% of employers are currently recruiting and hiring foreign national employees in the U.S., and 89% of companies hired one or more foreign national employees who were previously laid off by another company in the last six months.
• 81% of companies transferred foreign national employees to an office abroad in the last year and 80% of companies relocated employees to work remotely overseas because of visa-related issues in the U.S.
• 93% of employers expect to relocate foreign workers. They expect this year to focus on offshoring or nearshoring talent—transferring employees overseas or to a nearby country—because of a combination of immigration restrictions and labor demands.
• 86% of companies hired employees outside the U.S. for roles originally intended to be based inside the country because of visa-related uncertainties. 
• Canada is the top destination to relocate foreign workers that have been in the U.S., followed by Mexico and the United Kingdom and Germany.
• Lastly, the survey found that 94% of companies would be willing to sponsor foreign nationals for a work visa if there were fewer immigration obstacles in place.

Some of those numbers might be discouraging, but this year has also started out with 71% of companies reporting that they are recruiting more foreign nationals in Q1 2023 than last year. 

What does this tell us? So far, it seems to mean that global talent is still incredibly important to most companies, despite recent layoffs and economic uncertainties. The data also tells us that immigration processes are a major consideration for companies who want to hire from overseas, and countries with streamlined work visas and fast immigration support are likely to be more resilient. 

After you read the report, tune into Episode 1 of the Immigration & Mobility Decoded podcast, where Envoy dives into the trends with CEO Dick Burke!