Listings for ‘Ghost Jobs' Are Rising-Here's How To Spot Them

You spend hours polishing your CV, tailoring a cover letter and hitting submit. Then nothing. Weeks later, the same job appears online again.

For many job seekers, that experience is becoming increasingly common-and it may not be a coincidence.

Data suggests that so-called "ghost jobs" are increasingly widespread. Nearly 80 percent of professionals have applied to a role they believed was not real, with almost 60 percent saying it has happened more than once, according to a JobLeads poll.

Industry data shows that between 18 percent and 22 percent of roles posted on Greenhouse fall into this category at any given time.

Nathan Putsey, talent acquisition manager at JobLeads, told Newsweek: "A ghost job is essentially a live job listing but with no real intent to hire anyone because the role is already filled, canceled, or never existed… But the job ad stays up collecting applications."

In practice, this means a listing can remain online even when there is no active vacancy behind it, continuing to attract applicants long after hiring has stopped, stalled or never been approved.

Matthew Warzel, president of MJW Careers, told Newsweek that while not every delayed or unfilled role fits this description, such postings have "become increasingly common in today’s hiring market due to economic uncertainty, workforce planning, and talent pipeline strategies."

The scale of the issue is reflected in candidate experience. Studies suggest that as many as three in five job seekers believe they have come across at least one of these listings, with some estimates putting the share of ghost jobs as high as 40 percent across recent research.

Why Companies Post Roles They Are Not Filling

For applicants, the idea that companies advertise roles they are not actively hiring for can feel baffling. But the reasons often come down to business intelligence, optics and internal planning.

Putsey said one of the clearest motives is talent pipelining: keeping listings live so companies can collect resumes for roles they may want to open later. Employers may also use postings to test the market, including salary expectations, available skills and how competitive their package looks against other businesses.

According to the study, ghost listings can also serve internal purposes. Some teams use them to justify headcount or defend budgets, even when a hire has not been approved. Others may leave postings up to signal growth to investors, analysts or the press. In some cases, the advert can also send a message to current staff that they are replaceable, even if no replacement is actually being sought.

How To Spot a Ghost Listing

Ghost listings can be difficult to identify with certainty, but there are patterns applicants can look for before investing time in an application.

The posting date is one of the strongest clues. Real roles are often filled within around 30 days, while a ghost job posting may remain live for 30, 60 or even more than 90 days. Putsey said that "anything live 3+ months is almost always a ghost job," particularly when the same advert keeps returning with little or no change.

Applicants should also check whether the role appears on the company's own careers page. If a job is listed on LinkedIn or Indeed but cannot be found on the employer's website, that can be a red flag.

Reposting patterns matter too: the same job appearing every few weeks with the same description may suggest the company is collecting applicants rather than filling the role.

The content of the advert can also be revealing. Real postings often name a specific team, function or reporting line, while ghost listings may read like generic templates.

Vague responsibilities, broad requirements and unusually wide salary ranges can all indicate that an employer is testing the market rather than hiring immediately. A range such as $70K–$180K, for example, may be less about compensation for a real role and more about measuring candidate expectations.

There are also external signals candidates can check. If a company's headcount on LinkedIn appears flat or shrinking while dozens of roles remain open, that may suggest the hiring activity is not as active as it appears.

Interview reviews can help too: searching the company name alongside "interview" on Glassdoor or Reddit may reveal whether candidates have recently been contacted for similar roles. If no one appears to have interviewed in months, the vacancy may not be moving.

Why Awareness Matters

Ghost jobs are not illegal in most countries, and current regulation has only begun to address related issues such as salary transparency and posting expiry dates. That leaves many applicants trying to navigate a hiring market where not every opportunity is as active as it appears.

Experts caution, however, that not every delayed response means a listing is fake.

Warzel said: "Many employers are operating with lean teams, lengthy approval processes, and changing budgets that can delay hiring decisions. The best strategy is to focus on high-quality applications, prioritize networking whenever possible, and target organizations that demonstrate clear signs of active hiring rather than relying solely on online job boards."

Still, one thing is clear. As Putsey put it: "Ghost jobs aren’t about you, and the silence is not a failure."

Understanding how these listings work may not eliminate them, but it can help candidates focus their energy on roles that are actually being filled.

2026 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.

This story was originally published June 28, 2026 at 9:00 AM.