Working abroad can enhance employees’ adaptability, confidence, and cultural intelligence, according to experts, and a growing number of European job seekers are taking advantage of opportunities outside their home countries. In the European Single Market, 16.7% of job seekers reported having at least one work experience abroad as of late 2025, according to employment platform Indeed. By comparison, just 5.1% of workers in the United States have international work experience.
Indeed defines ‘internationally mobile workers’ as those who have worked in at least one country other than their current country of residence. The data, covering eight European countries including one that has since left the Single Market, shows considerable variation in international mobility across the continent.
Switzerland has the highest share of internationally mobile workers, with more than half (51%) of job seekers reporting foreign work experience. Ireland follows with 42%, while Germany ranks third, with around a quarter of job seekers having worked abroad. Spain and the UK both have slightly more than one in five job seekers with international experience.
“Relatively smaller economies like Switzerland and Ireland can appear to have disproportionately high shares of internationally mobile workers because even modest inflows represent a larger percentage of their total workforce,” said Sneha Puri, an immigration policy analyst at Indeed. Geographic proximity also plays a role. Countries near multiple large labor markets tend to see more cross-border movement, with Switzerland benefiting from neighbors including Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Liechtenstein.
Puri also noted that countries hosting multinational corporations or higher numbers of international students attract more international workers. Economic size further affects the share of mobile employees, as smaller workforces can make foreign experience more prominent statistically.
The data indicates that European job seekers are looking beyond their home countries for opportunities both within and outside the Single Market. Intra-Single Market job searches, where workers look for roles in other member countries, remain steady at 5.4%. Outbound searches for non-member countries have risen sharply, reaching 7.2% by October 2025.
The US and the UK are the most popular destinations outside the European Single Market, accounting for 40.5% and 30.4% of outbound searches respectively, with Germany being the main country of origin for both. The UK left the Single Market after Brexit in 2020, but it remains a major draw for European professionals seeking international experience.
Indeed says cross-border work experience shapes careers by helping employees develop skills they may not acquire at home, while supporting Europe’s mobile workforce and the Single Market’s integration.
