US job openings were much higher than expected in May, shrugging off uncertainty from Iran war

By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — Good news for job seekers: The number of available positions in the United States increased for the second month in a row.

New data Tuesday showed that the estimated number of job openings ticked higher in May to nearly 7.6 million, from 7.59 million, setting a fresh two-year high in the process, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey.

Economists had expected the number of job openings to drop nearly 10% in May to around 6.975 million and that the jump in openings in April was likely an overstatement of labor demand.

Other measurements of the labor market, including from Indeed and LinkUp, showed that job postings have been in decline since early this year, likely a response to the energy price shock from the Middle East conflict along with “the step-up in uncertainty,” Pantheon Macroeconomics economists wrote in a note this week.

Tuesday’s report, however, showed that the April boost might not have been a blip, providing further evidence that the US labor market is not only stabilizing but also is poised for expansion.

However, despite businesses’ increased appetite to expand their workforces, not all are pulling the trigger: The number of new hires dropped for the third month in a row.

The US job market remains entrenched in a low-hire, low-fire dynamic.

This story is developing and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.