Outbound job seekers from Mangaluru, Udupi region drops by 20 % in over a year, says KDEM, Xpheno report

Mangaluru and Udupi region is showing signs of increasing attraction among talent, with the volume of outbound jobseekers from the region dropping by a significant 20% in over a year (from 2025 to 2026), according to ‘Silicon Beach Skills: Talent Landscape of Udupi and Mangaluru Cluster – 2026’ report.The report prepared by Karnataka Digital Economy Mission (KDEM) with Xpheno Private Limited said that outbound jobseekers from the region fell from 36,400 in 2025 to 29,000 in 2026, while 24,000 professionals from across India are actively looking to move into the Silicon Beach (Mangaluru, Udupi) cluster.According to the report, there is 3% year on year (YoY) growth in in-bound job seekers (those willing to shift to Silicon Beach) from 23,200 in 2025 to 24,000 in 2026.If KDEM is a not-for-profit organisation that connects the Government of Karnataka with the technology industry to promote the State’s digital economy, Xpheno Pvt Ltd is a specialist talent solutions and staffing firm.Referring to the signs of increasing talent retention in the region, the report said: “Presence and growth of world-class local enterprises is creating opportunities and enhancing talent retention. Inbound interest from talent outside the region has marginally grown by 3%. The nature of enterprises in the region and their footprint is well set to make the region’s workforce more global in outlook and exposure in the years to come.”Active talent poolThe report, released during the sixth edition of ‘Mangaluru Technovanza – 2026’ a few days ago, said that Mangaluru and Udupi region now (by September, 2026) has an active and accessible white-collar talent pool of 2.80 lakh which is up from 2.40 lakh in 2025.The experienced white-collar talent with more than one year of working experience grew by 17% on year over year (YoY) basis, moving up to 1.05 lakh from 90,000 in 2025, it said.With the growth in scale, the report said, the region also holds a healthy diversity mix in the white collar workforce with 38% female and 62% male. The Silicon Beach region is also home to a high potential mix of senior professionals and experienced mid-level talent. Professionals with over 15 years of experience make a significant 14% of the active workforce. At the other end of experience spectrum, talent with one to five years of experience make the majority with 46% of the active workforce. “This configuration of the pyramid offers a sustainable and stable talent pipeline for enterprises to build on,” the co-founder of Xpheno Kamal Karanth said.Industry mixIn terms of industry mix, the Information Technology / IT enabled sector remains the largest with almost one-fourth of the total active workforce employed in it. The IT / ITeS Sector has also registered a 21% YoY growth, emerging as a sector with job creation potential in the region. The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) and business consulting sectors, with 16,400 active talent continues to be the second sector by white-collar talent. The top three white-collar skillset groups in the region are Programming (25,600 professionals), Business Skills (22,300) and Finance & Accounting (18,100).“The talent pool with these top skillsets have grown between 23% and 26% in the last 12 months,” the executive summary of the report said.B. V. Naidu, chairman, KDEM, said that Mangaluru has firmly established itself as a powerful anchor for technology and innovation among the State’s emerging clusters. The region is proving that world-class institutions and an exceptional quality of life can together attract and retain global talent. “KDEM is leveraging this momentum to unlock new investment corridors along the coast,” he said.Sanjeev Kumar Gupta, CEO, KDEM said: “We are building skilling pathways, anchoring companies, and strengthening the cluster from the ground up. Execution is what matters, and the coast is where that discipline is beginning to show.” Published - October 04, 2026 12:51 am IST