Welcome to RemoLabs! This research series presents insights derived from anonymized customer data, utilizing RemoFirst's Employer of Record platform, as well as surveys and third-party market research. We then share our findings to help you hire smarter and navigate global expansion.

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Between rapid advances in AI, rising cybersecurity threats, and the push to become truly data-driven, companies today are under pressure to move faster than ever.

But there’s a problem.

The roles that power innovation are also the hardest to fill.

Recent survey data from our State of International Hiring Report shows that the most difficult positions to hire for in the next 12 months are roles in:

• Artificial intelligence (73%)
• Cybersecurity (71%)
• Data and analytics (63%)

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This isn’t just a hiring challenge. It’s a business risk.

When these positions remain vacant, product development slows, security gaps widen, and decision-making becomes less effective. In other words, the ability to compete is directly tied to the ability to hire.

And increasingly, hiring locally just isn’t cutting it.

The Roles Companies Can’t Fill Fast Enough

Across industries, the race for specialized technical talent is intensifying.

What stands out isn’t just the demand, it’s how critical these roles have become to day-to-day operations and long-term growth. The biggest gaps are emerging in a few key areas:

AI (73%)

AI has quickly shifted from experimental to essential.

What was once a niche capability is now embedded across functions — from customer support automation to product personalization and forecasting. Companies are investing heavily in machine learning, generative AI, and advanced modeling to stay competitive.

But the talent pool hasn’t kept pace.

AI roles require highly specialized skills that evolve rapidly. Candidates need a mix of technical expertise, real-world application experience, and often domain-specific knowledge. That combination is rare.

According to the World Economic Forum, demand for AI and machine learning specialists has been among the fastest-growing globally in recent years, with no sign of slowing.

This has resulted in a highly competitive market where top candidates often receive multiple offers, quickly.

Need help finding AI talent for your company? Check out our playbook for The Modern Strategy for Hiring AI Talent Worldwide. 

Cybersecurity (71%)

Cybersecurity is no longer just an IT function. It’s a core business priority.

As digital infrastructure expands and threats become more sophisticated, companies must invest in protecting data, systems, and customer trust. At the same time, regulatory requirements are increasing across regions.

This has created a major talent gap.

According to the ISC2 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the global shortage of cybersecurity professionals is still in the millions, highlighting how widespread and persistent the issue is.

For hiring teams, this translates into longer hiring timelines, higher costs, and intense competition from both local and international companies.

Data and Analytics (63%)

Every company wants to be data-driven. Fewer have the talent to make it happen.

Analytics roles are not just about collecting data. They are about turning it into insight and action.

That requires professionals who can:

• Build and interpret models
• Communicate findings clearly
• Connect data to business decisions

Many organizations struggle to find candidates who can do all three.

Research from McKinsey shows that companies that effectively leverage data and analytics significantly outperform their peers in productivity and profitability.

Yet the talent needed to unlock that value remains limited.

The Real Bottleneck Isn’t Talent

At first glance, this looks like a talent shortage.

But in reality, it’s a distribution problem.

The talent exists. It’s just not evenly distributed.

Many companies still hire within narrow geographic boundaries, often limited to a single country or region. That approach worked in the past. Today, it creates unnecessary friction.

Local hiring markets are often:

• Highly competitive
• Expensive
• Slower to produce qualified candidates

Meanwhile, skilled professionals in other regions are overlooked simply because they are outside traditional hiring zones.

Why Companies That Hire Globally Move Faster

To keep up, more companies are expanding how they think about hiring.

Instead of competing in one saturated market, they are accessing talent across multiple regions.

Hiring globally allows companies to:

• Find specialized talent faster
• Reduce time-to-hire for critical roles
• Avoid inflated salary competition in a single market
• Build more diverse and resilient teams

Research from Harvard Business Review has also shown that diverse teams tend to solve problems better and make stronger decisions, especially in complex environments.

This is particularly true in fields like AI, cybersecurity, and analytics, where innovation and problem-solving are key.

Put simply, the companies moving fastest are not just hiring better. They are hiring globally.

How to Fill These Roles Faster Without Adding Complexity

Expanding globally does not have to slow you down. In many cases, it does the opposite.

Here are three practical ways to get started:

1. Expand Your Hiring Strategy Intentionally

Identify a few regions with strong talent pools for your priority roles.

For example:

• AI and engineering talent across Eastern Europe, India, and Latin America
• Cybersecurity talent in Eastern Europe and Israel
• Data and analytics professionals across India and Southeast Asia

You don’t need to hire everywhere. You just need to look beyond one market.

2. Remove Unnecessary Location Requirements

Many job descriptions still include strict location constraints that are no longer necessary.

Instead:

• Focus on skills and outcomes
• Open roles to remote candidates
• Evaluate based on capability, not proximity

This alone can significantly increase your candidate pool.

3. Solve the Compliance Problem Early

This is where many teams get stuck.

Hiring internationally means navigating:

• Local labor laws
• Payroll and tax requirements
• Contracts and benefits

Without the right systems in place, it can feel complex and risky.

That is why more companies are using Employer of Record solutions to manage compliance while hiring globally.

Making Global Hiring Simple

An Employer of Record allows you to hire employees in other countries without setting up a local entity.

With the right partner, you can:

• Onboard employees compliantly in new markets
• Manage payroll, taxes, and benefits in one place
• Reduce administrative overhead
• Hire in days instead of months

For companies struggling to hire staff for critical roles, this removes one of the biggest barriers.

The Takeaway

The challenge isn’t that talent doesn’t exist. It’s that it’s no longer concentrated in one place.

AI, cybersecurity, and data roles are now essential for companies to operate and grow. And competition for this talent is only increasing.

Companies that rely solely on local hiring will feel the pressure through slower hiring cycles, higher costs, and missed opportunities.

Those that adapt will move faster.

Because in today’s hiring landscape, the advantage doesn’t come from finding talent first.

It comes from being willing to look everywhere.

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About This Data

Our data is anonymized from customer insights and trends as well as surveyed from hundreds of HR and People Ops leaders globally. While this does not include millions of data points, this is collected among thousands of companies globally who are finding and open to talent based in countries around the world.

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