Conversation Starter: U.S. job seekers looking abroad

Every election year, the election results spur Americans to consider looking for jobs overseas. 2024 was no different: immediately after the 2024 election, there was a surge in U.S.-based job seekers looking for jobs abroad, as outlined in previous research. This surge in interest spiked immediately after the election and began tapering through the end of the year. Between the election and the inauguration on January 20, 2025, the share of job clicks on international jobs by U.S.-based job seekers was up 22% compared to the pre-election baseline.

But how sustained was this interest in international jobs by U.S. job seekers? After the inauguration, interest in international jobs is still elevated, but is only 6% higher than pre-election.

The most popular international destinations for U.S.-based job seekers include Canada, Mexico, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. As the U.S.’s closest neighbors, it’s no surprise that Canada and Mexico are top destinations for U.S. job seekers. Compared to pre-election, jobs in Canada (+9%) have seen large surges in interest from U.S.-based job seekers. Mexico in particular has seen a 48% surge in its share of job clicks, perhaps from Mexican immigrants considering moving back to Mexico as a result of the new administration’s policies. Germany (+5%) and Spain (+19%) have also seen increases while the UK saw an increase post-election but post-inauguration, interest has declined sharply by 15%.

Several European countries have garnered increasing interest from U.S. job seekers. In Europe, the countries with the largest increases in U.S. job seeker interest from pre-election to post-inauguration include Ireland (+64%), Portugal (+57%), Spain (+19%), Greece (+18%) and The Netherlands (+17%).

Methodology

This analysis is based on job search activity from U.S.-based job seekers on Glassdoor defined as clicks on jobs where the job is listed in an international location. Data is from September 1, 2024 through May 18, 2025 and is split into three periods pre-election (September 1, 2024 through November 4, 2024), post-election (November 5, 2024 through January 19, 2025) and post-inauguration (January 20, 2025 through May 18, 2025).