US Lawmakers Move to Ban 'Ghost Jobs' as 19% of Online Listings Show No Hiring Activity

Lawmakers are moving to crack down on so-called 'ghost jobs' as frustration grows over vacancies that appear online even when employers have little or no immediate intention of hiring.

For jobseekers, the problem is simple: they spend hours tailoring CVs, writing cover letters and preparing for interviews, only to hear nothing back or see the same role reposted weeks later.

The issue has become difficult to ignore. Hiring platform Greenhouse found that around 19 per cent of jobs advertised on digital job boards in the second quarter showed no meaningful hiring activity after receiving applications.

That does not mean every one of those roles was deliberately fake, but it does show how many advertised jobs can remain active without progressing candidates.

Lawmakers Want Employers to Be Clear

New York and Pennsylvania are among the states pushing legislation aimed at making job adverts more transparent.

New York's bill, which has passed both houses of the state legislature, would require employers to say when they expect a role to be filled and could impose fines for violations. Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to review the legislation when it reaches her desk.

In Pennsylvania, Representative Jim Prokopiak has proposed a bill requiring employers to accurately state their hiring intentions and remove listings within a set period once jobs are filled.

'When people are putting the time and effort into applying, there's a reasonable expectation that there is a job out there,' Prokopiak said.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also opened an investigation into LinkedIn over concerns that some listings may not represent genuine hiring opportunities.

LinkedIn says its rules require job adverts to be authentic and accurately represented. The platform also displays information such as response times and whether employers are actively reviewing candidates.

Why Do 'Ghost Jobs' Exist?

There is no single reason.

Some employers keep adverts live to build a pool of candidates for future vacancies. Others may post a role that was initially approved but later frozen because of budget cuts, restructuring or wider economic uncertainty.

Andy Nelesen of talent management firm SHL said jobs can be paused or reconsidered after they are advertised, particularly when business conditions change.

Jobseekers, however, have raised more cynical concerns online, including claims that companies use adverts to appear as though they are growing or to collect CVs for possible future use.

Those claims are difficult to prove on a case-by-case basis, which is part of the challenge lawmakers face.

One Jobseeker Applied More Than 3,000 Times

The frustration is particularly severe for people who have been out of work for months.

Texas marketing professional Heather Sanford told the Wall Street Journal she had applied for more than 3,000 jobs since her contract role ended in May 2025.

She said she had gradually burned through nearly $40,000 in savings while continuing to search for work.

Sanford also said she often sees the same positions reposted after receiving no response.

'If you've posted a job and you have 500 applicants, are you telling me not one or two or three are qualified?' she asked. 'Are you looking for a unicorn? Or is it not a real job?'

The Jobs Market Is Already Difficult

The debate comes as the US labour market shows signs of strain.

The unemployment rate stood at 4.1 per cent in July. While the number of unemployed people fell, employment also declined and the labour force shrank by 264,000.

The labour force participation rate dropped to 61.4 per cent, its lowest level since early 2021.

Ghost jobs generally do not appear in official government vacancy data because employers are supposed to report only positions that could start within 30 days and for which they are actively recruiting.

For jobseekers, though, the practical problem remains the same: if a role is advertised, they expect it to be real. Lawmakers are now trying to turn that expectation into a legal requirement.