These are the fastest-growing skills in the U.S., according to LinkedIn: They're 'career currency'

Related StoriesWhat skills can help make you more attractive in the job market or workplace today?LinkedIn's 2026 Skills on the Rise list, published Tuesday, identifies the fastest-growing skills in the U.S."We've seen the skills required to do our jobs evolve dramatically in the last 10 years, with even more change on the way, largely fueled by AI," Andrew Seaman, LinkedIn News Senior Editor-at-Large for Jobs & Career Development, tells CNBC Make It. "Employers are looking less at job titles or degrees and more at what people can actually do."The list was determined by analyzing year-over-year growth in "skill acquisition" and "hiring success" from Dec. 1, 2024 to Nov. 30, 2025, compared to the period from Dec. 1, 2023 to Nov. 30, 2024. The report looked at the increase in LinkedIn members adding a given skill to their profiles (skill acquisition) and the increase in members with a given skill who got hired during that period (hiring success).LinkedIn grouped individual fast-growing skills into broader categories based on use cases and other factors."Think of your skills like career currency — they help determine who gets hired, who gets promoted, and who's tapped for new projects," Seaman says. "Even as industries evolve or companies change, skills are what give you flexibility and resilience, especially in an uncertain job market."Here are the top categories in LinkedIn's 2026 skills on the rise list and some of the individual skills that fall under each:The list is a mix of "hard" skills, particularly in AI, and "soft" skills like communication and people management. "Those [who] embrace AI, are curious with the technology, and use it in their daily work will be seen as the future leaders at each company," LinkedIn COO Dan Shapero previously told Make It. AI literacy was the top skill on LinkedIn's 2025 Skills on the Rise list.Soft skills like conflict mitigation, adaptability and innovative thinking made up roughly half of LinkedIn's 2025 list. They're crucial to our day-to-day work, Andrew McCaskill, formerly a career expert at LinkedIn, previously told Make It. "Human-centric skills" like these, he said, are "really game changers." Want to improve your communication, confidence and success at work? Take CNBC's new online course, Master Your Body Language To Boost Your Influence. CNBC Select is editorially independent and may earn a commission from affiliate partners on links.Get Make It newsletters delivered to your inboxLearn more about the world of CNBC Make It© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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