Ghost jobs: What the rise in fake job listings says about the current job market

Legitimate companies are increasingly posting fake job listings, often referred to as ghost jobs. Four in 10 companies posted fake job listings in 2024, and three in 10 are currently advertising for a role that is not real, according to a May survey from Resume Builder.

“Ghost jobs are actually not scams. They’re from real companies, but they are openings that don’t actually exist,” said Geoffrey Scott, senior content manager and hiring manager at Resume Genius. “That company is not actually hiring for that role at this moment in time. They might be interested in hiring for that role in the future,  or maybe they were hiring for it, but due to budget cuts, those roles were closed or put on hold.”

Revelio Labs, a U.S.-based workforce intelligence company, found that the rate of hires per job posting has essentially halved over the past five years. In 2019, there were eight hires for every 10 job postings. By 2024, that number had dropped to four hires per 10 job postings.

“I think this is a pretty worrying development because it just softens the signal of what a job posting really means,” said Lisa Simon, chief economist at Revelio Labs. “And whether there is truly a hiring intention behind that from the employer’s point of view,” Simon added.

It is important to note that while the U.S. job market slowed significantly in July, the overall labor market remains healthy. According to June’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, there are 0.8 unemployed individuals per job opening, indicating a tight labor market.

“The rise of ghost jobs is muddying the jobs report. It’s making it harder for the Fed to make decisions and understand what the labor market looks like,” said Dan Kaplan, senior partner at Korn Ferry, an HR consulting firm. “Anecdotally, people will tell you that it’s very tough out there. We’ve talked about this notion of unhirables. People who are out of work get laid off and just can’t find a job. They can’t buy an interview.”

Watch the video above to learn why ghost jobs are rising and what this trend reveals about the current job market and the overall economy.