Tiger Research 2023 Global Web3 Jobs #2
Part 2 - Global Web 3 Job Postings by Region/Position
TL;DR
Web3 job postings worldwide show a decline amidst the current economic downturn.
1) North America, 2) remote locations, 3) Europe, and the 4) Asia Pacific, in that order, are the regions with the highest employment rates. However, regional job distribution will gradually increase based on the new projects in emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia.
The dampened market has directly impacted job distribution within the Web3 sector. Positions in sales, business development, and finance continue to be in demand, as many projects need to increase revenue and profitability. Yet, hiring for management support staff has seen a significant decline.
Introduction 2023 Web 3 Job Report #2
In the previous analysis, we scrutinized the trends in the Web3 job market. Despite a downward trend in job postings owing to industry-wide downturn, certain sectors are persisting in their pursuit of future opportunities. New ones are showing signs of growth. Today, we will cover the regional and job-specific characteristics within the Web3 industry.
Where is hiring the most Web 3 employees?
As the global economy faces an on-going recession, and the advent of Crypto Winter has aggravated the decline in Web3 job postings. However, several trends stand out:
North American (NA) dominance: North America leads the pack with the highest absolute number of job postings, trailed by remote work, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region. The NA region housed about 50% of global Web3 hires in Q1 2023, and the US took 90% of all the regional hires. Even amidst debates of a shift in the US-centric Web3 paradigm towards the European and Asian regions, we anticipate the US-centric Web3 market to persist in the short-to-medium term. (Technical competitiveness will be covered in later reports).
Remote Work dips but continues to see steady increase: Remote work witnessed a sharp decline of approximately 70% in job postings from Q4 2021 to Q1 2023. Although the global economic recession and restructuring has contributed objectively to the decline in employment, the end of the COVID has also influenced the reduction in remote jobs. Yet, despite the steep decline, remote work still ranks second in global job postings. This trend underscores the steady growth of remote work in line with Web3's open & Work Anywhere philosophy.
Hiring in Europe Declines: Although Europe stands third in global employment ranking, it has also recently seen the steepest decline in job postings. In comparison to North America, Asia, and Latin America where job postings in Q1 2023 fell by around 40% compared to Q4 2021, Europe's decline is more pronounced. This trend reflects the substantial decrease in hiring from the most active companies in Europe.
Companies such as SwissBorg, Parity Technology, and Sygnum Bank, which were the most active in hiring during Q4 2021, have seen negligible recent recruitment. This could be attributed to their inability to raise additional capital after securing investments during the Web3 boom of 2021/22, and the adverse effects of the Crypto Winter on profitability.
The Asia-Pacific region has seen a decrease of around 40% in job postings from Q4 2021 to Q1 2023, mirroring other regions. While employment in the region's traditional Web3 industry hubs such as Singapore and Hong Kong dropped by around 50%, the emergence of new players in Southeast Asia, like Indonesia and Malaysia, has somewhat offset this trend.
India, a rising tech powerhouse in the Web3 market, is noteworthy as well. Indian Web3 job postings have not decreased from Q4 2021 to Q1 2023, and the country's third-largest global Web3 talent pool suggests continued active recruitment.
The regions with the next highest number of job postings are 1) Latin America, 2) the Middle East, and 3) Africa. Binance accounts for the majority of job postings in these three regions, suggesting that the company's regional expansion rather than a surge in Web3 activity is the primary driver.
Latin America experienced a sharp employment spike in Q2-Q3 2022, but a steep decline by Q4 2022, largely due to the fallout from FTX's bankruptcy. Notably, BlockFi, a major virtual asset lender, aggressively targeted Latin America for market expansion but filed for bankruptcy following FTX's bankruptcy, leading to a sharp decline in hiring. Meanwhile, employment in the Middle East and Africa decreased by less than 5% from Q4 2021 to Q1 2023, indicating their sustained interest in the Web3 market.
Which role has the most demand in Web 3?
The job-specific trends in the Web3 industry largely follows the general negative trend in hiring. This is likely due to companies' efforts to cut costs and maintain operations by reducing absolute hiring numbers. However, there are noticeable differences in specific roles.
Sales and Finance roles saw the smallest decreases, with employment dropping by around 40%. These roles were likely crucial for survival strategies such as promoting revenue and improving profitability amid the Crypto Winter. It's likely that there was a need to improve revenue streams by leveraging existing assets, and personnel essential for revamping financial structures would have been indispensable.
Conversely, roles in recruitment and HR saw significant decreases, with recruitment down 90% and HR down 70%. This is likely due to the reduced public interest in the Web3 market and restructuring, and suggests that companies are focusing on using existing staff rather than new hires for future business development.
Conclusion
We've analyzed regional and job-specific characteristics in the Web3 market based on current hiring trends. While the market still seems to be dominated by the US, the emergence of new Web3 players in the Asia-Pacific region and the growth of remote work might play a crucial role in future market diversification. In terms of specific positions, the current market downturn is evident. A significant decrease in the hiring of recruiters and back office functions such as HR suggests that companies are focusing on raising the organizational efficiency.