These are the most costly locations to work overseas in 2022

Hong Kong has been named the most costly metropolis wherein to reside and work abroad this yr, in keeping with a brand new report which highlights the affect of rising residing prices and worsening macroeconomic developments on the expatriate market.

The town rose one place in Mercer’s 2022 Value of Dwelling index to regain pole place after being bumped to second place in 2021 by Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It marks the fourth time in 5 years that the Asian monetary hub has been ranked as the most expensive location for abroad employees.

Hong Kong’s resurgence was pushed partially by rising inflationary pressures, which have pushed residing prices greater throughout the globe. In the meantime, ongoing Covid restrictions and elevated political volatility have made it costlier to compensate employees who’re posted there, Mercer accomplice Vince Cordova instructed CNBC Make It.

“A part of it’s the actual property market,” mentioned Cordova, noting that fascinating lodging has now change into costlier, pushing up the price of expat packages.

“The opposite half is the price of items and companies and likewise the political uncertainty. The people who find themselves going to be there might want to spend extra to reside properly,” he mentioned.

The town was bumped 13 locations within the Economist Intelligence Unit’s World Liveability Index 2022 final week, amid what the EIU cited as its lack of political and cultural freedom.

Hong Kong was the Asian outlier in a high 5 dominated by Swiss cities in Mercer’s 2022 Value of Dwelling index: Zurich, Switzerland ranked because the world’s second most costly metropolis for abroad employees, adopted by Geneva (third), Basel (4th) and Bern (fifth).

Cordova mentioned that was because of the energy of the Swiss franc, which has, till not too long ago, held regular in opposition to a rising U.S. greenback, the benchmark foreign money in Mercer’s report.

Mercer’s annual value of residing index, now in its twenty eighth yr, is designed to assist firms and governments decide pay packages for expatriate staff by measuring lodging prices and the value of products and companies inside native markets in opposition to their relative value in New York Metropolis.

This yr’s index ranked 227 cities and took under consideration the costs of greater than 200 gadgets — from classes equivalent to meals, transportation, housing and private care — as of March 2022.

In contrast to earlier years, Cordova mentioned, the 2022 report additionally famous the rising prevalence of distant work, with extra firms utilizing it as a instrument when deciding their versatile working insurance policies.

“One of many penalties of the pandemic was this idea of labor from wherever, with extra staff now asking employers if they’ll assist that,” he mentioned.

“Corporations now need some data on what the financial affect of that relocation can be, and that is how we’re seeing mobility broaden,” he added.

This is a rundown of the ten most costly cities for expats, in keeping with Mercer’s findings. 

1. Hong Kong, Hong Kong (SAR)
2. Zurich, Switzerland
3. Geneva, Switzerland
4. Basel, Switzerland
5. Bern, Switzerland
6. Tel Aviv, Israel
7. New York Metropolis, United States
8. Singapore, Singapore
9. Tokyo, Japan
10. Beijing, China

Ankara, Turkey (227th) ranked because the least costly metropolis to work overseas, adopted by Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (226th), Dushanbe, Tajikistan (225th), Islamabad, Pakistan (224th) and Karachi, Pakistan (223rd).

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