Job openings, new hires unexpectedly rise in May as labor data steadies ahead of June jobs report

Job openings unexpectedly picked up in May as investors had been watching for further signs of cooling in the labor market after last month's data showed open jobs in the US fell to a three-year low.

New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Tuesday showed there were 8.14 million jobs open at the end of May, an increase from the 7.92 million job openings in April.

April's figure was revised lower from the 8.06 million open jobs initially reported. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected the report to show 7.95 million openings in May.

By Josh Schafer.

Full story at Yahoo News.