c IT and gig economy now use artificial intelligence tools for automation, analytics and creative production. Employability in India has climbed to 56.35 percent in 2026, up from 54.81 percent the previous year. Indicating the country’s increasing readiness for the digital economy. Workers aged on average 28.4 years and growing participation from tier-2 and tier-3 cities mark both urgency and opportunity.
Women now hold a slightly higher employability rate than men for the first time, at 54 percent versus 51.5 percent. This breakthrough owes its momentum to hybrid work models and digital skilling reaching broader talent pools. Within the technology domain, India claims around 16 percent of the global AI talent pool. A figure set to rise as the report projects 1.25 million specialists by 2027. More than 90 percent of employees across sectors report using generative AI tools in their work-flows. While adoption of AI-based recruitment systems has reached 70 percent in IT and 50 percent in banking, financial services and insurance.
The gig and freelance economy forms a central theme of the report. Which expects India’s independent workforce to grow to 23.5 million by 2030, with project-based hiring expanding at 38 percent year-on-year. Major hiring sectors include technology, manufacturing, renewable energy, healthcare and BFSI, while high demand emerges for skills in AI, data analytics, cloud computing and cybersecurity.
A geographic shift is also underway. Cities like Lucknow, Kochi and Chandigarh are strengthening their roles as emerging job hubs, helping narrow the urban-rural skill divide across India. That said, challenges remain. While tool-based adoption is high, the report emphasises the need for deeper alignment across academia, industry and government to build AI-ready learning ecosystems. India’s current momentum offers a window of opportunity but demands sustained effort.
As organisations re-shape their hiring and training strategies, the evolving landscape suggests a future where human-AI collaboration becomes the norm. Employees and employers alike must adapt. The question for India now is not whether skills matter, but how fast the system can evolve to meet this new reality.
