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Ghost Jobs Are About to Get Expensive for Employers

Ghost jobs, online job listings for positions that do not actually exist or that a company has no immediate intention of filling, are becoming more than just an annoyance for job seekers. While eager applicants took the time to personalize and submit their resumes, portfolios, and cover letters, anxiously hoping for a call that could lead to their dream job, the company was really looking to build a talent pipeline, signify growth, placate current employees, or meet compliance rules. But ghost jobs may no longer help companies fulfill compliance requirements, and are turning into a compliance risk.New York’s Senate Bill S8877, which passed the state legislature in June and was delivered to Gov. Kathy Hochul, would fine employers $2,500 per publication or digital platform for failing to disclose real hiring intent. If the bill passes, it would have a major impact on the job market, for both hiring companies and job seekers alike.Ghost jobs have gone from an open secret to a measurable epidemic. Criteria Corp’s 2026 Candidate Experience Report shows that more than half, 53%, of job seekers experienced ghosting within the last year. That figure comes amid a three-year rise in employer ghosting: 48% of applicants were ignored by employers in 2025, up from 38% in 2024, according to Fortune. Pennsylvania’s proposed Ghost Job Postings Prevention Act and Ontario’s new job posting requirements (effective Jan. 1) indicate that this isn’t a one-state phenomenon. Other states, including California and New Jersey, are considering anti-ghost job legislation, as well.Meanwhile, employers are facing another challenge: application volume. Robert Half reported that 67% of HR leaders say AI-generated applications are slowing hiring. The volume problem that makes ghost postings tempting (pipeline-building, optics of growth) is intensifying, not easing.New York’s S8877 would require employers to state in job listings that the post is for a current vacancy with a specific fill date. If they don’t plan to fill the position within 90 days, they must specify that as a “no sooner than” date. Employers would also have to specify if the job is not for a current vacancy but the employer is seeking resumes for potential future openings. Employers and third-party advertisers must take down a job advertisement within two weeks after it’s filled. If companies advertise jobs violating the statute, they could be fined $2,500 for each publication or digital platform where the posting appears, with the fine doubling if the violation is not rectified within 30 days.For HR teams, that means ghost-job compliance could become an operational issue, not just a legal one. Employers would need to know exactly where each job posting is listed, distinguish active openings from pipeline postings, document intended hiring dates, and create processes for removing filled positions from every platform. A job posted simultaneously on a company careers page, LinkedIn, Indeed, and a third-party recruiting site could rack up multiple potential violations from a single stale posting.But the stakes go beyond fines. New research suggests that repeated negative experiences with the labor market can shape how people view work itself. According to a June 2026 NBER working paper, men’s labor-force participation is influenced by beliefs about the returns to working, which are shaped by their experiences with the labor market. Those effects can persist even when men move to different states, and the researchers argue that short-term declines in labor demand can produce long-term declines in labor supply.Ghost jobs are not the only factor influencing those beliefs, and the NBER study does not specifically examine ghost postings. But the implication for employers is worth considering: If workers repeatedly encounter jobs that appear available but never lead anywhere, they may learn that pursuing work is less worthwhile than they once believed.That matters at a time when the labor force is already under pressure. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the labor-force participation rate fell to 61.5% in June, while 6 million people who were not in the labor force said they wanted a job. And Lightcast projects that the U.S. could face a shortfall of roughly 6 million workers before the end of the decade.Ghost jobs are evolving from a convenient recruiting tactic into a serious liability with legal, operational, and potentially long-term talent-pipeline consequences. As the competition for workers intensifies, companies may want to think twice before asking candidates to invest their time and trust in a job that was never really there.Grace Turney is a St. Louis-based writer, artist, and former librarian. See more of her work at graceturney17.wixsite.com/mysite.(Photo by FangXiaNuo/iStock)