Recent industry reports reveal an increase in “ghost jobs”- job listings that seem like genuine employment opportunities designed to attract applicants but remain open indefinitely because employers do not intend to fill them. It is estimated that an alarming 70% of the current job postings fall into this category.
This trend is not prevalent in a particular industry, but research states that this occurrence is more predominant in the technology and consulting sectors. Research states that ghost job listings in the consulting industry are at a record high in the second quarter of 2024.
The situation creates emotional disturbances and anxiety among job seekers, leading to demoralization and frustration. Searching and applying for jobs is a job in itself. It consumes much time as it involves preparing detailed job-specific documentation. After the application, the job seeker either receives a rejection or has yet to get a reply, even after months of waiting.
Due to the great resignation and economic uncertainty after the pandemic, ghost jobs have increased. This corporate practice inflates the actual number of jobs in the job market and prolongs the job search, leading to job search burnout.
Ghost jobs have significant negative implications for the labour market and job seekers: They inflate the unemployment figures, waste precious job seekers' time in applying for vacancies that do not exist, and cause job seekers to face the psychological trauma of repeated rejections or no response.
The very transparency of the job market is threatened. A deeper look at the companies' perspectives on such job listings reveals their hidden agenda that is concerning and unjustifiable. Some reasons behind this corporate listing of ghost jobs are access to market pulse, building a talent pool for the future, maintaining an appearance of growth, maintaining an image of prosperity, a slowdown in the economy, making the company look stable during the hiring freeze, testing a job description.
Additionally, these listings may arise from internal mismanagement or miscommunication within the company.
The prevalence of ghost jobs has also caught the eye of the government. Though at the moment, there are no specific laws in any country against ghost job postings, if the situation escalates, then the regulatory bodies could become involved, leading to some action calling for corporate accountability.
According to a CNBC report 2024, four out of ten companies post false job listings without an intention to hire. Another research report states that 81% of recruiters have put up fake job listings for already filled posts and posts they have no intention of hiring.
In the digital information age where transparency is paramount, the surge of ghost jobs, irrespective of corporate short-term reasons, is unjustified and will lead to more significant and more profound labour market ramifications and job search burnout among applicants.
According to the International Labour Organization, world unemployment stands at 4.9% in 2024 and is projected to remain the same in 2025. Ghost jobs will distort unemployment statistics and, more importantly, erode trust in the job market, job posting, and the hiring processes. This will also lead to skewed labour market trends and statistics, leading to misinformed decision-making by economists and policymakers.
The impact of ghost jobs on global unemployment is still unfolding. These corporate exploitative practices can disrupt the labour market and create job search burnout globally. Companies' job listings should reflect genuine hiring requirements and intentions.
Job seekers must also be more cautious in gauging the authenticity of a job posting, and policymakers must act urgently to prevent the proliferation of ghost jobs.
Dr Mythili Kolluru
The author is an assistant professor at the marketing and management department of the College of Banking and Financial Studies in Muscat.
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