Contractor and consulting engagements surge amid need for agile talent
Contractor engagements went up by 46% from 2023 to 2024 amid a diversifying talent landscape and employers' need to remain agile, according to a new report.
Findings from Oyster's 2025 Global Hiring and Impact Report revealed the strong demand for contractors as companies look for flexible solutions to their workforce needs.
It also showed that there was a sharp rise in consulting hires, which grew tenfold during the same period.
Marina Farthouat, VP of People at Oyster, said the findings show the emergence of the "Expertise Economy."
"Knowledge workers are increasingly defining their careers through expertise and meaningful projects rather than company loyalty, while organisations are building fluid, specialised teams that can adapt quickly to changing market demands," she said in a statement.
According to the report, this strategy allows employers to fill their short-term talent needs quickly while also mitigating tighter talent budgets.
John Arms, fractional work expert and co-founder of Voyageur University, said in the report that "fractional" approaches are becoming the "go-to growth model for modern businesses" and professionals.
"Companies are realising they don't need to 'own' talent to benefit from it. And top professionals aren't waiting around for titles — they're building purpose-driven, flexible careers on their own terms," Arms said.
Global hiring trends
The findings come in the wake of an evolving global talent landscape in 2024, according to Oyster.
"Companies are thinking more strategically about how and where they can grow their workforces to meet dynamic and ever-changing business demands," it said.
"Talent shortages and tighter budgets are driving companies to explore other solutions, such as cross-border hiring."
According to the report, Europe emerged as the top talent market with 43% of new hires on the Oyster platform, followed by Asia and the Middle East (24%), and then North America (20%).
By country, the Philippines and the United States emerged as the top hiring destinations, with the highest volume of total new hires.
Meanwhile, the greatest increase in new hires from 2023 to 2024 was recorded in Mexico, with a 136% increase. This was followed by Peru (+89%) and Switzerland (+88%).
The United States and the United Kingdom emerged as the top employer countries, accounting for a full two-thirds of companies hiring internationally in 2024.
"The United States is the world's largest economy and the leading hub for business and innovation, so it makes sense that they're the biggest employer country for global talent," the report read.
"Additionally, hiring U.S. talent is more competitive and more expensive, so it's increasingly necessary for U.S. employers to look abroad to fill their talent needs."
The growth in global hiring is unlikely to slow down, as the report found that 57% of companies plan to hire talent in another country in the next 12 months.
"What's very interesting is how quickly companies adapt once they make that first global hire," Farthouat said.
"Organisations that initially approach global hiring with caution quickly expand their footprint as they experience the value of specialised skills. Not long ago, building a global team was considered bold and forward-thinking. Now, it's simply smart business."
