Should more be done to tackle ‘ghost jobs’, vacancies that don’t exist?
The phrase “ghost jobs” might sound like something from Halloween, but it refers to the practice of employers advertising vacancies that don’t exist.
In some cases the positions may have already been filled, but in others the job might not have ever been available.
It’s a real and continuing problem on both sides of the Atlantic.
Up to 22% of jobs advertised online last year were positions listed with no intent to hire, according to a study across the US, UK and Germany by recruitment software provider Greenhouse.
A separate UK study put the figure even higher, at 34%.
Meanwhile, the most recent official data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that while there were 7.2 million job vacancies back in August, only 5.1 million people were hired.
Why are firms posting ghost jobs, and what is being done to tackle the problem?
