analyzed how its 300 million registered professionals are moving around the world to pursue career opportunities. This provided them with a better view of which countries gained and lost the most talent between November 2012 and November 2013, and what characteristics are shared by those who relocate for their careers.
As a percentage of the total country workforce, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw the most talent coming into the country with the majority of members coming from India. Spain, which has been facing tough economic conditions, saw the most talent leaving the country with the majority of members leaving for the United Kingdom.
Countries in blue gained more members than they lost. Countries in red lost more members than they gained.
A few highlights stood out after digging deeper into specific country data:
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UAE saw a strong inflow of professionals at 1.3% net gain particularly among architecture
and engineering roles. This might reflect the region’s fast development and the increasingly busy skyline. It was noticed that the vast majority of members who moved to the UAE (75%) came from outside of the Middle East. Additionally, many members were promoted as part of their move, with 40% of members indicating a seniority of “manager” or higher in the title of their new position.
- Spain has the largest net loss of 0.3%, most likely as a result of the economic challenges in recent years. Proximity to their home country appears to be an important driving factor with 60% of professionals who left Spain remaining within Europe. However, Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America are also a popular destination for Spanish professionals representing about 20% of those who moved
- Germany has achieved a net gain of 0.4% showing it is one of Europe’s strongest and most resilient economies. The analysis indicates that over 60% of members moving to Germany in the past year came from another European country. Germany has attracted a strong inflow of technical talent from around Europe. The majority of them are in engineering and research functions, working in the automotive and software industries.
- 1 out of 3 LinkedIn members who made a move of 100 miles or more in the last year relocated internationally. This varied drastically due to country size and proximity to neighboring economic centers. For example, Switzerland, a small landlocked country, saw the greatest percentage of movers leave the country at 69%. The top destinations for Swiss movers were Germany and France. Compare this to the United States, a country of much greater size and a particularly insular culture, where only 3% of movers left the country in the past year.
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