Lost in the heated rhetoric of the endless immigration debate is the basic fact that people want to go where there is work and governments want to regulate the matter.
In a tight labor market it’s not surprising to see workers relocate for the right opportunity. In a recent study Manpower reports that 78 percent of the workers it interviewed worldwide said they would be willing to relocate for a job. Nearly 37 percent said they would leave their home country. Of those willing to move, two in five said they would do so permanently.
But what happens to the countries and cities these migrating workers leave behind? Does brain drain cause economic pain? Apparently, yes, many employers around the globe are feeling that the global talent market is working against them, at least according to a new study.
Internationally, 31 percent of employers express concern about the global migration of talent, according to a Manpower study of 28,000 employers in 27 countries. The same study reports that only 15 percent of employers feel that government and business are “doing enough” to stem the flow of talent to other countries.
Controlling the flow of talent around the world doesn’t sound like a progressive idea, but it is universally practiced by governments around the world – no matter what type of political system is in force. In theory, without some labor controls in place, wage inflation and deflation would run rampant. And there would be critical shortages of skilled professions in some countries.
According to the Manpower study, “employers in Peru (82%), Argentina (66%), South Africa (65%), Taiwan (64%) India (57%), and New Zealand (52%) express the most concern about the impact of ‘brain drain’ on their labor markets resulting from talent leaving their country to work in another country. On the other hand, employers in China (1%), Ireland (7%), Japan (12%) and Switzerland (12%) are least concerned about the issue.”
I have been writing about global careers for several years now I have never encountered data suggesting that large-scale, cross-border migrations of skilled workers are taking place in numbers that could undermine a hiring base for employers. All indications are that the percentage of college-educated workers expatriating themselves from “first world” countries to explore ‘foreign” options is well under five percent.
Among workers considering foreign opportunities, the U.S., China, UK and Spain are the preferred destinations. What would prompt these moves?
- Increased pay was cited by 82% of respondents.
- Surprisingly, nearly half the respondents said they would move to learn a new language.
- The higher the level of educational attainment, the greater the willingness to move. And, undoubtedly, the greater the appeal of the worker to a potential employer in another country.
Meanwhile, for adventurous workers in a tight economy it’s easier to stay ahead of inflation by finding a new job rather than a raise or promotion. Undoubtedly, there will continue to be churn in job markets, with increasing political scrutiny paid to the ebb and flow of global talent. Watch for it to become a significant issue in 2008 races with virtually no one ready to stand up for the people who simply want the freedom to move to support themselves or their family.
Top 10 Jobs Filled with Foreign Talent
The top 10 jobs that employers are filling with foreign talent across the 27 countries and territories surveyed by Manpower:
- Laborers
- Engineers
- Production Operators
- Technicians
- IT Staff
- Sales Representatives
- Administrative Assistants / PAs
- Customer Service Representatives
- Senior Executives / Board Members
- Accounting & Finance Staff
Source: Manpower Borderless Workforce Study of 28,000 employers in 27 countries, June 2008
