New Delhi, Jan 12: Youth hiring in India is projected to grow by 11% by 2026, generating around 1.28 crore new jobs, according to a report released on Monday by NLB Services.
The report estimates that IT services will account for 30–40% of these roles, followed by fintech (20%), healthcare (13%), manufacturing (12%), logistics (10.7%), and green energy (4%).
“India stands at a pivotal point where its demographic dividend can drive economic growth if matched with the right skilling investments,” said Sachin Alug, CEO of NLB Services, while marking Youth Day with the theme “Ignite the Self, Impact the World”.
With over 65% of India’s population under 35 and 12 million youth expected to enter the workforce by 2026, Alug emphasised the need for future ready skills to meet growing demand. High-impact roles such as AI/ML engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity specialists, cloud architects, digital product managers, and sustainability professionals are expected to outpace supply.
The report highlighted a significant opportunity gap in AI-skilling programmes, even as workplaces increasingly prioritise AI fluency and advanced digital competencies.
“Structured upskilling, skill aligned recruitment, and outcome-based talent models will be central to ensuring India’s youth not only participate but actively power the country’s next phase of economic transformation,” Alug said.
Currently, only 45% of youth are considered job-ready for high-growth tech and digital roles. Targeted upskilling at scale could unlock 21% productivity gains across knowledge-intensive sectors, potentially contributing up to 8% to India’s GDP by 2026.
The report also stressed the importance of inclusive workforce participation, noting that women currently make up 41.7% of the formal workforce, while employability in tier-2 and tier-3 cities lags behind metros. Expanding training access, raising female workforce participation to 55% by 2030, and including underrepresented groups could add an estimated 9.3 million skilled workers over the next five years.