Keeping Track: imported employees

US companies draw heavily from Europe

Call them "inpatriates," employees recruited for skilled work in the United States from another country - or transferred here from a company's foreign offices. Typical example: a male, 35-to-50 years old, from Europe or Asia, assigned here for at least three years. Less than 20 percent stay in the US once their stint is done.

That's according to Runzheimer International, the Rochester, Wis.-based management consulting firm, which polled some 40 companies of varying sizes and across several industries and regions.

Professional/technical jobs are most often filled by inpatriates (82 percent), followed by executive/management positions (62 percent).

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