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The Indicator from Planet Money · April 15, 2024 · 9m
Ghost Jobs: The Listings That Don't Really Exist
The Indicator investigates 'ghost jobs' — job listings that companies post with no intention of filling. Research suggests 20-40% of online job listings are ghost jobs, posted to build talent pipelines, satisfy internal processes, or signal company growth.
This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.
Canon
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The team argues that ghost job listings present a false self (we're hiring for this role) while serving a true function (building talent pipelines, satisfying process, signaling growth) that has nothing to do with actually filling the position.
Highlights
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Up to 40% of online job listings may be ghost jobs — posted with no intention of hiring, distorting the labor market data everyone relies on
The team presents research showing that companies post job listings they never intend to fill — to build talent pipelines, satisfy HR processes, or project growth to investors. This distorts JOLTS data that the Fed uses to set monetary policy.Was this useful?