Half of Singapore’s new hires are overseas as organisations accelerate global expansion

Organisations in Singapore are expanding their international presence at a rapid pace, with global roles now accounting for a significant share of new hires. According to new research from Remote, nearly half (49%) of new hires made by Singapore-based organisations in the past six months were international roles. HR leaders also anticipate that 40% of new positions created over the next six months will be based abroad.

The findings, published in the Remote Global Workforce Report 2025, draw from insights gathered from more than 3,600 business leaders across 10 countries. The report highlighted a strong global hiring trend, with nearly three-quarters of growth being particularly strong among organisations headquartered in the UK, US, and Germany. Meanwhile, Singapore and South Korea are emerging as key drivers of global expansion in Asia. In contrast, Australia appears to be lagging behind in international hiring momentum.

For organisations in Singapore, the push to hire globally is becoming a defining feature of modern business. The average white-collar organisation in Singapore now employs talent across three or more countries, a figure expected to rise sharply by 2026. While hiring internationally helps organisations tap into new markets and mitigate local talent shortages, it also increases the burden on HR teams that are already operating with limited resources.

Remote’s research showed that the typical HR team in organisations in Singapore comprises five or fewer members—a small group tasked with managing employees across multiple regions and time zones. As a result, HR leaders are increasingly turning to automation and AI tools to navigate complex payroll systems, compliance risks, and evolving labour regulations.

However, managing a global workforce remains a challenge. Among the 250 Singapore-based organisations surveyed, 79% reported that unclear or conflicting local regulations made it difficult to hire talent abroad with confidence. Nearly one in three (29%) reported being unable to enter new markets due to compliance barriers, while two-thirds (66%) have encountered compliance challenges when hiring overseas, with each incident costing an average of over US$36,000.

READ MORE: From chaos to control: Centralising global payroll with Remote

The most common pain points cited by HR teams include maintaining a consistent employee experience across different regions, managing risks associated with misclassification between employees and contractors, and navigating multiple HR tools and platforms. This growing complexity has prompted more HR leaders to seek consolidation: over half (51%) of respondents in Singapore said they are looking to replace their fragmented HR systems with an integrated platform capable of managing global payroll, compliance, and reporting.

Job van der Voot, CEO and Co-Founder of Remote, said, “The first wave of technology in HR made it possible to hire globally. The next wave is transforming how those teams are managed. Beyond supporting HR operations as standard, AI is becoming the operating system for how organisations run a global workforce. The most successful HR teams are already leaning on integrated payroll and responsive, adaptable HRIS as the foundation for handling global payroll, compliance and reporting.”