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New Delhi: Andhra Pradesh has topped the list of states with the highest employability for the second year in a row according to a nationwide skills survey, the Times of India reported. West Bengal stood second in the list followed by Delhi, the report added.

Among cities, Bengaluru topped, followed by Chennai, Guntur, Lucknow, Mumbai, New Delhi, Nashik, and Pune, the daily added.

In the survey, which was held between July 15 and October 30, students were tested on subjects like English, critical thinking, numerical aptitude, domain knowledge & behavioural competence.

The survey further revealed that employability of MBA students have dropped 3 percentage points over last year while for engineering students it has increased by 5.6 per cent to 57.1 per cent. The employability gap between engineering and MBA students has been widening since last two years, according to the India Skill report 2019 prepared by People Strong, Wheebox and CII in partnership with the All India Council for Technical Education, UNDP and the Association of Universities.

It is worth mentioning here that Rajasthan and Haryana have appeared in the top 10 states list with the highest employability while Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Punjab did not find a place in the top 10. These states were in the top 10 list in the last year survey, the report said.

Overall, the survey showed that the availability of employable talent has been on an upward trajectory since 2014. It has risen from 33.9 per cent in 2014 to 47.8 per cent in the recent survey.

The ToI report citing the survey findings said that almost 64 per cent of employers have a positive outlook on hiring and it is expected to be 15 per cent higher compared to last year across nine major sectors. Demand for those with skills in artificial intelligence is seen robust. The key jobs in terms of hiring potential are: artificial intelligence, design analytics, research and development. About 23 per cent of employers plan to hire for design jobs, the report added.