LinkedIn report finds green hiring outpacing green skills supply globally

The LinkedIn Green Skills Report 2025 found that green hiring grew 7.7 percent from 2024 to 2025, nearly double the 4.3 percent growth rate of green skills in the global workforce. Indian companies facing new mandatory climate reporting and transition-planning obligations risk missing targets without sufficient internal green-skills supply amid rising talent costs.

The LinkedIn Green Skills Report 2025, based on aggregated, anonymised data from one billion global members spanning January 2021 through July 2025, confirms green hiring is outpacing green skills development. From 2021 to 2025, annual green skills growth stood at 3.4 percent against a 6.2 percent share of green hires. Green hiring grew 7.7 percent from 2024 to 2025, nearly double the 4.3 percent growth in green skills. Workers in the green talent pool secure jobs at a rate 46.6 percent higher than the global workforce average.

The shortfall affects employers across all sectors, with the technology, information, and media sector leading green hiring growth at 11.3 percent between 2021 and 2025, followed by transportation/logistics and financial services. In 2025, non-green job titles accounted for the majority of green-skilled hires at 53 percent for the first time, showing competencies like energy management, sustainable procurement, and lifecycle management becoming foundational for mainstream logistics, finance, and technology functions. All 47 countries tracked by LinkedIn showed an increased share of green hires over the period.

Companies facing new mandatory climate reporting and transition-planning obligations should build internal green-skills supply to avoid missing net-zero targets, recognising that competitive pressure will continue driving up costs for specialised employees and impacting budgets and project timelines. Employers should integrate green competencies into mainstream functions rather than niche sustainability roles. Governments and educators must actively integrate workforce development into climate policies to prevent the skills gap from becoming a bottleneck to decarbonisation and broader ESG goals.

Key figure — Green talent hiring advantage: jobs secured at a rate 46.6 percent higher than the global average