US-based generative AI job postings up 20% in May- data

Generative AI-related job postings in the United States jumped about 20% last month as companies look to harness a technology that has been widely touted as the next big growth driver, according to data from job portal Indeed.

The May figure, at 204 per million job postings, was also more than double the 2021 level and underscored the buzz around AI, sparked by the runaway success of OpenAI's ChatGPT.

Data scientist roles made up 5% of the AI job postings on Indeed's U.S. platform, while roles such as software engineer, machine learning engineer and data engineer were also in demand.

"There has been a notable increase in job seeker interest in AI-related jobs, especially since the introduction of ChatGPT," said Nick Bunker, director of economic research at Indeed.

The jump comes at a time when the broader tech job market is under pressure from mass layoffs at companies such as Meta Platforms and Amazon.com Inc, which are tightening their belts to cope with an uncertain economy.

Overall, tech jobs are down 43.6% in the United States from June last year, Indeed said, adding the number of available AI jobs was not keeping up with the interest from job seekers.

Indeed's data showed that searches for generative AI jobs jumped to 147 per million total jobs searched in May from virtually zero a year earlier.

Its U.S. website showed generative AI job listings from companies such as Meta Platforms, Apple, Tiktok, Pinterest and Amazon.com.