You usually cannot prove from the outside that a job posting is a ghost job, but you can judge whether it deserves your time. The strongest signs are a role missing from the employer's own careers page, a listing that has run or been reposted for months without changes, a description with no team, pay, start date or deadline where you would expect one, and nobody willing to confirm that the role is being filled. In Ontario, employers with 25 or more employees must now say in the posting whether it is for an existing vacancy. Treat one sign as a reason to check, and several together as a reason to limit the effort you put in.
A ghost job is a listing for a role the employer is not actively trying to fill right now. It may be collecting resumes for later, signalling growth, already filled internally, or simply forgotten. A ghost job wastes your time. A job scam is different, because it is after your money or personal details.
How common are ghost jobs?
Ghost jobs are common enough to plan for, but the published estimates measure different things and should not be read as one number. Self-reported surveys, platform data and hiring records each capture a different part of the problem.
| Finding | Source and method | What it can and cannot tell you |
|---|---|---|
| 40% of hiring managers said their company had posted a fake listing in the past year, and 3 in 10 companies had one live at the time | Resume Builder survey, commissioned by the resume-tools company and run on Pollfish from May 22, 2024: 1,641 hiring managers surveyed, 649 of whom completed the full survey | Self-reported by employers, from an online panel with a commercial sponsor. It shows intent exists, not how many listings you see are fake |
| 18% to 22% of jobs posted on Greenhouse in any given quarter are classified as ghost jobs | Greenhouse 2024 State of Job Hunting report, December 2024, from the hiring-software company's own platform data | One platform's classification, and the report does not publish its method |
| Three in five candidates suspect they have met a ghost job | Same Greenhouse report, survey of 2,500 workers in the US, UK and Germany | What candidates believe, not what was verified |
| Hires per US job posting fell from 0.75 in 2018 to below 0.5 in 2023 | Revelio Labs, with Bloomberg, matching postings to new positions that started within six months | Fewer hires per posting is consistent with ghost jobs, but the authors also point to a tight labor market, economic uncertainty and changed hiring habits |
Employers in the Resume Builder survey gave reasons such as appearing open to outside talent (67%), creating an illusion of growth (66%) and collecting resumes for later (59%). The same respondents said how long they kept fake listings up on average: 6% for under a week, 28% for a few weeks and 31% for about a month. By our calculation, 65% of those companies kept a fake listing live for a month or less, so a fresh posting date alone does not prove a job is real.
What are the signs that a job posting is a ghost job?
The most useful signs are ones you can check in a few minutes. Each one also has an ordinary explanation, which is why a single sign should lead to a question rather than a conclusion.
| Sign | How to check it | Ordinary explanation |
|---|---|---|
| The role is not on the employer's own careers page | Search the company's website for the title or job ID | The job is advertised only through a recruiting agency |
| The same listing has run or been reposted for months without changes | Note the posting or repost date the board shows, and search the exact title and company to find older copies | A hard-to-fill role, or several people hired for the same title |
| The text says it is building a pipeline or talent community | Read the posting's opening and closing lines | The employer is being honest that there is no current vacancy. Apply only if a future opening suits you |
| No team, manager, location details or responsibilities specific to this role | Compare it with other listings from the same employer | A rushed or templated posting for a real opening |
| No pay range or application deadline where the law requires one | Check the rules for the job's location. Colorado requires both | The employer is out of compliance, which is a separate problem |
| Many openings posted while the company announces layoffs or a hiring freeze | Read the company's recent news | Hiring continues in teams unaffected by the cuts |
| Nobody will confirm the role is being filled, or interviews end with no decision | Ask the listed contact one direct question (see below) | A slow process or a busy recruiter |
The strongest combination is a role that is missing from the careers page, has been reposted for months and gets no answer to a direct question. At that point, limit your effort on that listing and keep applying elsewhere.
Which laws require job postings to say whether a vacancy is real?
Only a few places require a posting to state whether the job exists or when it will be filled, so a missing statement means little outside those places.
- Ontario, Canada (in force since January 1, 2026). Employers with 25 or more employees must include a statement on whether a publicly advertised posting is for an existing vacancy, meaning a position imminently available for a qualified candidate. They must also tell interviewed applicants within 45 days of an interview (or the last of several close together) whether a hiring decision has been made. General help-wanted signs, internal-only postings and work performed entirely outside Ontario are excluded (Ontario's employment standards guide).
- Colorado (since January 1, 2024). Job postings must include the pay range, a general description of benefits and the date the application window is expected to close (SB23-105). A Colorado posting without a closing date is out of compliance, whatever its intent.
- New York (passed, awaiting the governor). Bill S8877 passed both houses on June 2, 2026. As of late September 2026, the Senate's bill page records no signature or veto. If signed, employers with 100 or more employees and job posting sites would have to state the date a role will be filled, a date before which it will not be filled, or that the posting is not for a current vacancy and is collecting resumes. Filled postings would have to come down within two weeks.
- California (stalled). Assembly Bill 1251 would have required private employers to state whether a posting is for a vacancy. It was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 29, 2025 and did not advance before the Legislature's August 31, 2026 deadline for passing bills (bill status).
What should you do if a job posting might be a ghost job?
Confirm the role through the employer, then match your effort to what you learn. Most of these steps take minutes.
- Find the role on the employer's careers page. If it is there, apply through that page. If it is not there, treat the listing as unconfirmed.
- Ask one direct question. Write to the recruiter or contact named in the posting: "Is the product analyst role actively being filled, and is there a target start date?" A specific answer is a good sign. Silence after a reasonable follow-up is information too.
- Look for a person on the team. Someone who works there, or a former colleague who knows them, can often tell you whether the team is really hiring.
- Scale your effort to the evidence. Send a standard application to an unconfirmed listing, and save the tailored work for roles you have confirmed: a rewritten cover letter, a work sample, or an optional supplement made for one posting, such as yume's Job Application film. That film is built around one specific role and company, so it only pays off when the role is real, and it never replaces what the employer asks you to submit.
- Record it as unconfirmed. In your job-application tracker, mark the listing as pending with the date you asked, and set one follow-up date. Silence leaves the outcome unknown. It proves neither a rejection nor a ghost job.
If most of your applications seem to disappear, the listing may not be the only cause. The guide to a stalled job search helps you find where your search stops progressing and what to change first.
How is a ghost job different from a job scam?
A ghost job costs you time; a job scam tries to take your money or personal information. The US Federal Trade Commission's job scam guidance warns never to pay for the promise of a job and never to deposit a check from a new employer and send part of the money back. Treat any request for an upfront fee, or for money sent back from a deposited check, as a sign of a scam, and in the US report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. A ghost job asks nothing of you beyond an application, so the right response is to confirm the role and spend less effort on it.