3 EU cities among Top 10 most popular destinations for workers looking to relocate

A study on global workforce trends revealed that workers would relocate to Amsterdam, Berlin, and Barcelona

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Network conducted a study of 209,000 people from 109 countries to find out which countries and cities are most desirable for workers looking to relocate. The survey found that people’s decisions were heavily influenced by the way governments managed the COVID-19 outbreak.

On 4 March, the BCG and The Network published their findings in a report titled, “Decoding Global Talent, Onsite and Virtual.” It must be noted that this is the third study on global workforce trends that they have conducted since 2014.

The authors of the report introduced the findings of their latest survey, writing that they demonstrate “big shifts in the map of global mobility”.

Three EU cities among the Top 10 destinations

London took first place on the Top 10 list as most people shared that they would relocate to live and work in the English capital. Interestingly, the study also found that workers favour Asian and Middle Eastern destinations more than in previous years mainly due to the ways in which they responded to the coronavirus outbreak.

Nevertheless, three EU cities have made it to the Top 10 list.

Amsterdam (2^nd place)

15% of responders said that they would relocate to work in the capital of the Netherlands. For this reason, Amsterdam has come second on the Top 10 list, rising three places since the previous survey in 2018.

Berlin (4^th place)

According to the report, Berlin has dropped from third place in 2018 to fourth place in 2020. Despite its drop in ranking, 13% of survey participants still labelled the city as desirable for relocation.

The authors of the study explained that Amsterdam and Berlin have ranked high due to their “dynamic start-up scenes”. In addition to this, they also wrote that workers now view the two European cities as “hubs for innovation”.

Barcelona (9^th place)

With 9% of study participants claiming that they would relocate to the Spanish city, Barcelona has ranked ninth in the Top 10 list. The report showed that the city has dropped five places after ranking fourth in 2018.

It is interesting to see how the COVID-19 outbreak has affected workers’ views on working abroad. While EU cities are evidently still among the most popular destinations for relocation, the Top 10 list featured various other places. The full list can be seen below:

1. London
2. Amsterdam
3. Dubai
4. Berlin
5. Abu Dhabi
6. Tokyo
7. Singapore
8. New York
9. Barcelona
10. Sydney