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Community Q&A

How Many Companies Use Fake Jobs to Collect Personal Information? Community-reported

Understanding the prevalence of ghost jobs and their implications for job seekers.

The Reality of Ghost Jobs

Ghost jobs, or listings that are not genuinely open for hiring, are a significant issue in the job market. According to an analysis of LinkedIn listing data, approximately 27% of job listings can be classified as ghost jobs. This means that a notable portion of job seekers may be applying for positions that do not exist or are not intended to be filled.

The phenomenon of ghost jobs often correlates with companies that utilize these listings to collect resumes and personal information rather than to fill actual vacancies. This practice can be seen as a way to build a talent pool for future hiring needs or to gather data for other purposes, including potential resale.

How we answered this: only from our published red-flag data, board-coverage research, and the cited stats on this site โ€” no invented numbers. Job-search norms vary by field and change over time, so treat this as evidence-based guidance, not a guarantee. See our open methodology.
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