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Those who possess a good level of technical expertise are almost always able to find employment as needed.

Machine learning specialists are presently in very high demand.

Some of the most in-demand skills are cloud and distributed computing, mobile development, and chat support.

If you have technical expertise, you shouldn't have any trouble finding work: Computer programming and designing skills dominate the list of the skills employers are looking for most in employees, according to three separate recently released rankings from LinkedIn, Upwork and Opportunity.

The most in-demand skill for the second year in a row, according to LinkedIn's data, is cloud and distributed computing.

"These skills are in such high demand because they're at the cutting edge of technology," LinkedIn wrote on its blog. "Employers need employees with cloud and distributed computing, statistical analysis, and data-mining skills to stay competitive."

To develop the rankings, analysts examined all of the hiring and recruiting activity that happened on LinkedIn in the past year, and identified the skill categories that belonged to members who were more likely to start new jobs and receive interest from recruiters.

Upwork's data show that machine learning was the hottest skill in 2016. The researchers said that with businesses harvesting enormous amounts of data, the demand for machine-learning specialists who can build adaptive algorithms and extract the value of this new data is increasing.

Upwork's rankings are based on the growth rates of the jobs freelancers are being hired for on the Upwork platform.

"The freelance workforce is the best indicator of new skill trends," Stephane Kasriel, CEO of Upwork, said in a statement. "Businesses are turning to freelancers to complete projects requiring skills that aren't available locally."

Those who are not technically savvy shouldn't fret that they lack the skills employers are looking for these days. Social media management, Facebook marketing and content writing were all among UpWork's top skills too. In addition, a number of sales-related aptitudes ranked highly on this year's most sought-after skills from Opportunity.

Bill Jula, co-founder of Opportunity, said direct sales tops his organization's list because companies are expanding and seizing a chance to grow their businesses in an improved economy.

"I also believe the skill 'direct sales' means much more than in years past (i.e., door to door/cold calling)," Jula told Business News Daily. "So much of direct selling is interwoven into e-commerce, customer support, etc."

Opportunity's rankings were compiled from the skills being hired for among its network of more than 1 million business professionals.

These are the 38 most in-demand skills overall, according to the three reports from LinkedIn, Upwork and Opportunity: