Understanding Workforce Dynamics in the 2026 Era

You're at a tipping point: rapid technology adoption, shifting skills, and brand-new expectations are forcing you to reassess how your organization creates value through individuals. International Skill Trends 2026 offers you a dataled, useful view of the workforce trends shaping your decisionsdrawn from a worldwide survey of nearly 12,000 executives, HR leaders, employees, and financiers across 16 geographies and 16 industriesand reveals you: How peers are redesigning work to blend human ability with automation What AI in the office looks like How to get ready for the AI future of work Which future-fit skills to develop How to sharpen your worker value proposal to drive performance.

The authors are grateful to Karen Pastakia, Kate Sweeney, Simona Spelman, Costs Briggs, and Nitin Mittal for their time, input, and steady collaboration throughout this effort. Special thanks to Catherine Gergen for her dependable research assistance and coordination in writing this Introduction. A special note of recognition is scheduled for Ishani Purohit and Olivia Rueger, whose stable project management stewardship over the previous year managed every moving piece of this reportfrom early planning through last productionkeeping the team aligned, momentum strong, and execution smooth.

The authors extend thanks to the REM teamMatt Deruntz, Maria Neira, Qiaoli Wang, Manshreya Grover, Nirupam Datta, Charu Ratnu, Santhosh Naidu, Derek Taylor, Marcella Hines, Parag Zalpuri, Chris Tomke, and Luly Castillerofor their steadfast partnership and behind-the-scenes execution that kept the work moving from draft to delivery. The authors likewise recognize the Deloitte Insights teamCorrie Commisso, Hannah Bachman, Annalyn Kurtz, Alexis Werbeck, Jim Slatton, Govindh Raj, and Molly Piersol, and the information visualization group, whose editorial rigor, storytelling craft, and visual clarity honed the narrative and brought the insights to life.

Thank you to the International Human Capital executive teamKate Sweeney, Kate Morican, Amanda Flouch, Nathalie Vandaele, Jodi Baker Calamai, Dheeraj Sharma, Franz Gilbert, Karen Pastakia, Simona Spelman, Yasushi Muranaka, Tom Alstein, Sebastian Pfeifle, John Brownridge, Kurt Proctor-Parker, Pat Shannon, Andrew Potts, Dahlia Katz, Ava Damri, Kelly Nelson, Joan Pere Salom, Gerhard Botha, and Stuart Scotisfor sponsoring and supporting the international reach of this report.

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The authors also extend genuine thanks to the customers who generously shared their time and experiences through interviews conducted for this report. Their candid insights and viewpoints enriched our exploration, grounded the thoughtful analysis in real-world truths, and enhanced the significance and functionality of the findings. Thank you to Lara Martinez Gonzalez, global director of skill intelligence, AstraZeneca; Michelle Robertson, executive board member (global human resources, people and culture), Adidas; Emily Bacon, senior supervisor, organization and people technique, Adobe; Zac Parris, former director of organizational effectiveness, Atlassian; Taeko Kawano, executive officer and primary human resources officer, AXA; Justin Zaccaria, chief personnels officer, Bechtel; Matt Schuyler, primary individuals officer, Creative Artists Firm (CAA); Megan Bazan, vice president of people, Cisco; Charlotte Wolf Tarfa, vice president, international talent strategy and succession, Coca-Cola; Melissa Collier, director, change leadership, Georgia-Pacific; Elise Bathurst, director of individuals operations, Google; Courtney Gilliland, senior director, United States human resources, Gordon Food Service; Lindsey Taylor, senior director, tactical workforce planning and individuals analytics, Hewlett Packard Enterprise; Marcia Oglen, senior vice president, enterprise personnels, Highmark Health; Jon Pitts, founder and chief technical officer, Ihp Analytics; Reiko Mukai, chief human resources officer, MetLife Japan; Charlotte Simpson, business officer and head of individuals and company, Novartis Japan; Heather Neville, senior vice president, individuals and locations technique and operations, Sony Interactive Entertainment; Jill Larsen, chief people officer, Synopsys; Niki Rose, labor force experience and capability executive, Telstra; Tomoko Adachi, international chief personnels officer, Terumo Corporation; and Michael Ehret, senior vice president and chief individuals officer, Walmart International.

How Labor Market Dynamics Shape GCC Strategy in 2026

CEO expectations for AI-driven growth stay high in 2026at the exact same time their labor forces are coming to grips with the more sober truth of existing AI efficiency. Gartner research finds that only one in 50 AI investments provide transformational worth, and just one in five delivers any quantifiable return on financial investment.

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AI has the possible to lead to significant shifts in how we employ and who we hire. As AI significantly handles the less complex, more repeatable jobs being done by the workforce, business will require to hire talent who have wider, uniquely human abilities. We're seeing increasing need for abilities like analytical, flexibility, and cooperation skills that spur organizational dexterity.