When the U.S.-Iran conflict began, the White House told markets and consumers to expect a short-lived campaign. Seven months on, the economic effects of military action are rippling into the U.S. job market: Workers are now baking oil prices into their career expectations.
A new study from recruitment platform Monster suggests that 65% of prospective job movers are changing their search priorities due to gas prices. 23% said they are looking for roles closer to home, and 17% are focusing more on salary expectations to offset the higher cost of commuting.
A further 20% said they are prioritizing fully remote roles, and 5% are applying for fully in-person roles.
The study comes as gas prices edge closer to $4.50 a gallon, on average. At the time of writing, the current national average price for mid-grade gas is a little over $5, while diesel exceeds $6.50. Compared to a month ago, a gallon of regular gas in the U.S. was around $4.10, up from $3.15 a year ago.
Crude oil prices have been creeping higher throughout 2026. A barrel of Brent crude was $105 per barrel this morning.
The surge in prices is due to supply disruptions in oil from the Middle East. Iran borders the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil exports from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. With ships reluctant to travel through the Strait—despite President Trump’s previous insistence that it is controlled by the U.S.—supply is stalling, pushing prices up.
With U.S.-Iran talks in New York this week, analysts had hoped for some details on when the action may de-escalate. However, optimism has (publicly) been hard to come by: Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian told the U.N. on Wednesday that it would never “bend the knee” but signaled it was ready for “ready for dialogue and diplomacy.” President Trump said he faced a decision: negotiating or “annihilat[ing]” the regime.
The cost of a commute
If gas prices remain elevated, employers trying to fill roles may need to get creative to entice recruits to undertake longer commutes. When asked what it would take to commute an additional 20 minutes on top of their preferred travel time, 32% of employed Americans said they would need at least a 20% pay increase.
A further 10% would accept a 10% pay rise, while 11% said they could be persuaded by a more flexible work schedule that included hybrid work. A further 9% said they would make the commute if their gas was reimbursed in some form, though 30% said neither finances nor flexibility would tempt them to commute further than their current roles.
And a commute can be a career killer, more than 1,000 respondents told the survey. Nearly half (49%) of the employed Americans said commuting costs or length have pushed them to turn down an opportunity, while 75% added that the rising cost of living has made work-life balance more important.
The coming decades will see a balance struck between employers who want their staff in the office, and younger generations who prioritize work-life balance. According to Mark Dixon, CEO of IWG, the world’s largest workspace provider, commuting could be extinct within the next 15 years. He previously told Fortune: “In the future, you’re going to explain to your kids that you used to commute.” They’ll think it’s “mad stuff” that bosses once asked their workers to “travel 100 miles to sit down and use a computer.”
For the time being, an equilibrium seems to have been reached. According to security provider Kastle Systems, which monitors occupancy across 10 major U.S. cities including New York, D.C., L.A., and Austin, 53% is the new normal for office occupancy.