Good news for India. The latest India Skills Report 2026 is out and it shows that overall employability of youth has improved a little. It went up from 54.81% in 2025 to 56.35% in 2026.
The report is made by ETS with help of CII, AICTE and some other organisations. They took data from more than one lakh students who gave the Global Employability Test and also collected feedback from over 1000 companies.
Top 10 Most Employable States in India
According to the report, these are the top states where youth are more employable:
- Uttar Pradesh
- Maharashtra
- Karnataka
- Kerala
- Punjab
- Madhya Pradesh
- West Bengal
- Rajasthan
- Arunachal Pradesh
- Jammu and Kashmir
Uttar Pradesh is at number one this year. Maharashtra and Karnataka is close behind.
Other Important Findings
The report also says that Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities is becoming big source of workforce. Not only big cities, smaller cities are also giving good number of skilled people now.
Gig economy is growing fast. By 2030, the number of gig workers in India is expected to reach 23.5 million.
India is also doing good in AI skills. We now have 16% of the world’s AI talent and more than 6 lakh AI professionals in the country.
Which Sectors Are Hiring Most?
Companies are still hiring heavily in these areas:
- Technology
- Banking and Finance (BFSI)
- Manufacturing
- Renewable Energy
- Healthcare
Final Words
Overall, the India Skills Report 2026 give a positive picture. Employability is slowly improving and smaller cities are also contributing more. For students, this means focusing on skills that companies actually need is more important than ever.
