New Economy Skills Unlocking the Human Advantage 2025

Human-centric skills on job postings BOX 3 Job postings provide a close view into employers’ priorities. An analysis by Indeed of nearly 2,900 granular work skills, classified according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Skills Taxonomy and mentioned in US job postings from May 2024–April 2025, reveals that only 72% mention at least one human-centric skill (Figure 11). The share varies widely by sector – from just 45% in supply chain and transport to 92% in education and training. Anything below 100% underscores how employers often omit human-centric skills from job postings. The most frequently cited skills are communication, leadership and dependability as well as attention to detail. By contrast, curiosity and lifelong learning, creative thinking and systems thinking are rarely referenced, despite their importance for adaptability and innovation. Communication skills emerge as the most frequently cited requirement across nearly all sectors, appearing in more than 60% of postings in industries such as financial services, government and public sector, and real estate. Teaching and mentoring ranks first in education and training and is also highly cited in media, entertainment and sports. Resilience and flexibility dominate in accommodation, food and leisure, and are strongly emphasized in healthcare, reflecting the pressures of frontline and operational roles. Creative thinking is most visible in media and entertainment, while analytical thinking is concentrated in energy and materials, automotive and aerospace, financial services, and information technology. These patterns underscore how demand for these capabilities tends to cluster within specific industries rather than being universally sought across the labour market. Share of US job postings mentioning human-centric skills, by sector, May 2024–April 2025 FIGURE 11 45%64% 67% 68% 68% 69% 73% 75%88%92% 83% 82% 82% 79% 79% 76%75%Supply chain and transport Infrastructure Care, person services and well-being Health and healthcare Manufacturing Agriculture and natural resources Accommodation, food and leisure Real estateAutomotive and aerospaceInformation technology and digital communicationsGovernment and public sectorEnergy and materialsFinancial servicesProfessional servicesMedia, entertainment and sportsEducation and training Retail and wholesale of consumer goods Average US job postings (72%) Notes: Share of US job postings mentioning human-centric skills from May 2024 to April 2025, by sector. Source: Indeed analysis; World Economic Forum, Global Skills Taxonomy. New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage 18