SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 2026|No. 13114
US Business · Labor

US Lawmakers Consider Ban on 'Ghost Job' Advertisements Amidst Job Seeker Frustration

Frustrated job seekers are prompting US lawmakers to consider banning 'ghost job' ads, which are posted by employers but may not represent actual openings.

A person looking at a computer screen with job listings.
A person looking at a computer screen with job listings.
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‘Ghost Job’ Ads Are Getting So Bad That Lawmakers Want to Ban Them

Employers post roles that never seem to get filled, or even exist, and job seekers are sick of it

By

Lauren Weber

Aug. 21, 2026 5:30 am ET

The cycle of heartbreak is familiar to job seekers everywhere: They see an ad for a role with great pay and potential, spend time customizing a cover letter and resume, hit submit, and then…nothing.

Sure, applications sometimes fall into a black hole. But in as many as one in five cases, the company has no real intention of filling the supposed opening. Months later, the same ad might still be up, but the job itself remains a phantom.

PAN's pipeline reviewed approximately 1 open sources for this article. No human editor reviewed this article before publication.

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