Singapore tops a list of the best countries for American companies looking to staff overseas operations, according to The World Employment Index released today by Stipenda, a Boston-based company that supports U.S. professional employer organizations.

Venezuela ranked lowest on the list, although it did score highly for the level of education of its workforce.  

“People often don’t look beyond the cost of labor, but there are many more areas that need to be considered,” said Stipenda CEO Solomon Williams. “Industrial relations and the definition of employee and employer rights for example, are areas that can end up having a dramatic impact on business performance.”

The index looked at the U.S.'s top 50 trading partners and measured eight elements that affect the attractiveness of a country as a place for U.S. companies to hire staff: Political/social/economic; tax and regulatory regime; legal system; innovation; location and infrastructure; workforce; currency stability; and corruption levels.

The foreign countries with the most favorable conditions for U.S. businesses to employ staff include:

1. Singapore
2. Hong Kong
3. Switzerland
4. Canada
5. Netherlands
6. Sweden
7. United Kingdom
8. Germany
9. United Arab Emirates
10. Australia