Despite more than 30,000 layoffs in the tech industry so far this year, some markets are actually seeing the demand for tech talent surpass supply, leading companies around the world to search for talent in smaller, “emerging markets,” according to a new report.
With the development of AI and other new technologies on the rise, Global Commercial Real Estate Services’ (CBRE) Global Tech Talent Guidebook found employers are tapping into smaller markets around the world for talent, including in Bucharest, Romania, Hanoi, Vietnam, and Huntsville, Alabama.
“The surge in tech talent demand in countries like Poland, Singapore, and Costa Rica is outpacing supply, leading more tech companies to seek out lesser-known markets where they can be an employer of choice,” Chris Volney, Americas managing director of CBRE Consulting, said in a statement.
CBRE identified its top 20 emerging markets for tech talent based on factors such as the potential growth of a tech talent pool, educational level of talent, and what the current tech ecosystem looks like. In Cebu City, Philippines, for example, CBRE noted the market’s university system, an increasing presence of a tech ecosystem, and the city’s geographic advantage in the Asia-Pacific region. In Lagos, Nigera, the report notes a large number of graduates in computer sciences and engineering and data sciences.
Part of the reason companies are looking to invest more in smaller markets is lower labor and property costs, the report said, noting that smaller cities in Europe and Asia-Pacific have experienced the highest proportion of investments by tech companies in the past two decades. A similar trend has happened in the US, the report said, with companies seeking comparable talent in the Sun Belt region to what they’d find in San Francisco and New York.
“New innovations like artificial intelligence are poised to catalyze the next growth cycle, creating employment opportunities and real estate demand in new and existing tech ecosystems across the world,” Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center, said.