This comes amid reports of a decline in modern foreign language learning. As major corporations value multilingual talent while fewer people leave education equipped with these skills, this suggests languages remain an asset we can’t afford to lose.
To uncover this trend, the language learning experts at Preply analysed job opportunities at major companies to calculate the percentage of corporations with job listings that require ‘bilingual’ or ‘multilingual’ language skills.
The top 10 Fortune 100 companies seeking ‘bilingual’ and ‘multilingual’ speakers
| Name | Fortune Rank | Sector | Advertising ‘Bilingual’ or ‘Multilingual’ Job Postings |
| Walmart | 1 | Retail | Yes |
| Amazon | 2 | Software Development | Yes |
| UnitedHealth Group | 3 | Hospitals and Health Care | Yes |
| Apple | 4 | Technology (Computers and Electronics Manufacturing) | No |
| CVS Health | 5 | Hospitals and Health Care | Yes |
| Berkshire Hathaway | 6 | Insurance | No |
| Alphabet | 7 | Multilingual technology | No |
| Exxon Mobil | 8 | Oil and Gas | No |
| McKesson | 9 | Hospitals and Health Care | Yes |
| Cencora | 10 | Hospitals and Health Care | Yes |
The research found that:
- 49 out of 100 companies featured in Fortune 100 are advertising for roles requiring ‘bilingual’ or ‘multilingual’ skills.
- More than 280,000 jobs are currently being promoted at Fortune 100 companies on the platform LinkedIn, with more than 1,000 of these advertisements mentioning ‘bilingual’ or ‘multilingual’.
- Industry sectors such as food and beverages, financial services and banking, and retail are the most common sectors where bilingual and multilingual skills are required for job roles
- There are more job postings seeking multilingual speakers than there are bilingual speakers, indicating a bigger demand for employees who speak more than two languages.
Cristina Miguelez, Spokesperson at Preply, said:
‘To explore how language skills feature in the workplace in 2025, we analysed job adverts posted by America’s top companies to determine those looking for multilingual talent, with companies like Walmart and Amazon being notable examples.
“Language can also differ in business wherever you go, and this research found that Fortune 100 companies from sectors such as financial services and banking, and food and beverages, are among the most likely to look for ‘bilingual’ and ‘multilingual’ speakers.
“These skills don’t just benefit the employer; they benefit the employee as well. Our research indicates that a second language is extremely useful to increase learning potential. In fact, speaking another language could boost your salary by as much as 47% and, in some countries, that can mean earning more than £26,000 extra ($35,000) every year.
“These findings further indicate the essential need to protect language learning, especially at the highest level of business, where international expansion is fast becoming an increasingly important growth driver for businesses.
“If you want to learn a second language for career prospects, try the Preply app – an effective and personalised way to learn languages online.”
