What skills would help make you more attractive in today’s job market and workplace?
LinkedIn’s 2026 Rising Skills list, released Tuesday, identifies the fastest-growing skills in the U.S.
“We’ve seen a dramatic evolution in the skills needed for jobs over the past decade, and we’re about to see even more change, driven in large part by AI,” Andrew Seaman, senior editor of jobs and career development at LinkedIn News, told CNBC Make It. “Employers are more focused on what a person can actually do than their job title or degree.”
The list was determined by analyzing year-over-year growth in Skills Acquisition and Hiring Success from December 1, 2024 to November 30, 2025, compared to the period from December 1, 2023 to November 30, 2024. The report looked at the increase in LinkedIn members who added specific skills to their profiles (skill acquisition) and the increase in members with specific skills who were hired during that period. (employment success).
LinkedIn has grouped individuals’ rapidly growing skills into broader categories based on use cases and other factors.
“Think of skills like career currency; they help determine who gets hired, who gets promoted, and who gets selected for new projects,” Seaman says. “Skills give us flexibility and resilience as industries evolve and companies change, especially in an uncertain job market.”
Here are some of the top categories on LinkedIn’s 2026 Hot Skills list, along with the individual skills that fall under each.
AI engineering and implementation, including data annotation and prompt engineering Operational efficiency, including logistics management and process optimization AI, including data governance and responsible AI
This list includes a mix of “hard” skills, particularly around AI, and “soft” skills, such as communication and human resources management.
Dan Shapero, LinkedIn’s chief operating officer, previously told Make It, “People who embrace AI, are interested in technology, and are leveraging AI in their day-to-day work will be considered the future leaders of their companies.” AI literacy was the top skill on LinkedIn’s 2025 Rising Skills list.
Soft skills like conflict mitigation, adaptability, and innovative thinking made up about half of LinkedIn’s 2025 list. They’re crucial to our day-to-day work, former LinkedIn career expert Andrew McCaskill previously told Make It. These “human-centered skills” are “really a game changer,” he says.
Want to improve your communication, confidence, and success at work? Take CNBC’s new online course, Mastering Body Language for Influence.
