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Guide

How US Employers Can Solve the Labor Shortage with Global Hiring

Employer of record

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Struggling to fill roles? Explore proven labor shortage solutions for US employers—from tapping overlooked talent pools to building a sustainable global hiring strategy with Deel.

Despite higher wages, expanded benefits, and flexible working arrangements, many US employers are still unable to fill critical roles. Applications have slowed, vacancies stretch on for months, and the teams left behind absorb workloads that quickly become unsustainable.

The labor shortage isn't a temporary disruption. It's a structural shift—driven by aging populations, skills mismatches, and changing worker expectations—that's affecting labor markets across the US and worldwide. Employers who build a sustainable response now will be better positioned than those waiting for conditions to improve on their own.

This guide shows you how.

What's inside

Rather than another list of short-term fixes, this guide gives you a clear-eyed view of what's actually driving the labor shortage, what tactics work in the near term, and why global hiring is the most sustainable long-term solution for US employers. Specifically, it covers:

  • The root causes behind today's labor shortage in the US and across international markets—demographic shifts, skills mismatches, and evolving worker expectations
  • The real business cost of prolonged vacancies: lost productivity, declining standards, compliance risk, and rising turnover
  • An honest assessment of tactical responses—automation, flexible working, and broadening your talent pools—including where they fall short
  • A roadmap to long-term workforce resilience through global hiring, and how Deel helps US employers hire, pay, and manage international talent across 150+ countries without the complexity

Who will benefit from this guide

This guide is built for US employers who are ready to move beyond stopgap measures:

  • Fast-growing companies hitting local hiring bottlenecks and needing access to niche expertise
  • Mid-sized businesses that have exhausted their domestic labor markets
  • Organizations experiencing high turnover or burnout from ongoing understaffing
  • Multinationals and US-based companies managing teams across states or countries, looking to simplify global hiring and compliance

Start solving your labor shortage with Deel

The US labor shortage isn't going away, but your organization doesn't have to keep absorbing the cost of unfilled roles. Deel's combination of global employment, payroll, compliance, and onboarding solutions makes it possible to hire talent in over 150 countries within days—for a fixed monthly fee that makes international hiring accessible at any scale.

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FAQs

The US labor shortage is driven by several structural factors converging at once. An aging working-age population is shrinking the available workforce, while skills mismatches mean many open job openings don't align with what candidates can offer.

The rise of self-employment and gig work has pulled people away from traditional employment, and limited access to affordable childcare continues to keep many parents—particularly women—out of the labor market. These aren't temporary conditions; most experts expect them to persist through the next decade.

Short-term responses—sign-on bonuses, overtime, or temp agencies—can ease immediate pressure but don't address the root problem.

More sustainable solutions include investing in internal mobility to reduce turnover, broadening hiring criteria to reach overlooked talent pools such as older workers, career returners, and people with disabilities, and introducing genuine flexibility to attract candidates who wouldn't otherwise apply.

For employers who've exhausted these options, global hiring offers the most scalable path forward: access to broader talent pools, less competition for candidates, and the ability to fill roles that simply can't be sourced domestically.

Global hiring removes geographic limits on your talent search. Instead of competing for a shrinking pool of local candidates, you gain access to international markets where qualified workers are available and competition is lower. It also gives your organization greater agility—when one market becomes saturated or wages spike, you can source talent elsewhere.

Companies using Deel's EOR have used this approach to grow headcount significantly: one customer increased its workforce by 20% in a single year by hiring internationally.

Global hiring has historically been associated with large enterprises, but that's changed. With an Employer of Record (EOR) like Deel, businesses of any size can hire compliantly in 150+ countries without setting up local entities or building in-house international HR functions.

Deel manages employment contracts, payroll, tax compliance, and benefits locally—so your team keeps day-to-day management without taking on the administrative and legal complexity. One customer extended an offer on a Wednesday, created the contract on Friday, and had the new hire start the following Monday.

Cross-border hiring introduces compliance exposure across worker classification, payroll tax withholding, statutory benefits, data protection, and termination rules—all of which vary by jurisdiction.

Deel builds compliance into every part of the platform, from contract generation and background checks to payroll automation and document management. As local laws change, Deel's Compliance Hub notifies you and updates applicable settings automatically, so your team doesn't have to monitor regulatory changes across every country where you hire.

With Deel's EOR, you can begin hiring in a new country within days rather than the months typically required to set up a local entity. Onboarding is handled through the platform, including document collection, contract signing, and identity verification.

Deel's support team is available around the clock across time zones, so new hires get a consistent, professional experience from day one—regardless of where they're located.