It was the best of times, it was the … best of times. Or was it? Over the past two years, we’ve been told repeatedly that we are experiencing the strongest labor market in decades. In February 2023, the Commerce Department announced, “Unemployment is at its lowest level in 54 years.” Then, in April, when the U.S. recorded its 27th straight month of sub-4% unemployment, the Center for Economic and Policy Research joined numerous others in celebration: “This matches the streak from November 1967 to January 1970, often viewed as one of the most prosperous stretches in U.S. history.” By June, Investopedia was lauding the current job market, noting that “U.S. workers are in the midst of one of the best job markets in history. They haven’t had this much job security since the 1960s, and haven’t seen a longer stretch of low unemployment since the early 1950s.”
However, despite these remarkable headline figures, there’s growing concern about what’s really happening behind the scenes. Unemployment statistics, while impressive, are considered a lagging economic indicator. Beneath the surface, there’s mounting evidence that the main drivers of new employment—online job listings—may not be as reliable as they seem. Indeed, the trend of “ghost jobs” has revealed serious issues.
Ghost jobs are listings where employers solicit applications for positions that have already been filled or were never intended to be filled. This practice, though growing for years, was fully brought to light by a Clarify Capital survey in September 2022, which focused specifically on ghost jobs. The survey of 1,045 hiring managers highlighted that half kept job listings open indefinitely simply because “The company was always open to new people.” Other reasons included giving the impression of company growth (43%) and keeping current employees motivated (43%). More frustrating were responses indicating that the job was already filled (39%) or that there was no particular reason for keeping the listing up (33%).
Automation within hiring practices is another significant factor, and one not covered by Clarify’s survey. Companies like Workable and Propellum provide services for automatically cloning job ads or scraping job posts from various sources, respectively. This automation often leads to aged job ads being reposted, creating the illusion of fresh job opportunities.
For instance, Propellum’s job scraping tools gather and repost job posts from numerous online sources, claiming this saves recruiters time and cost without requiring personal interaction. Such services may provide convenience, but often result in job seekers applying for outdated or non-existent positions, as highlighted by numerous anecdotal accounts.
The surge in automation and AI within the job market has also extended to the rise of scam jobs. Scammers equipped with AI tools can create fake job listings to gather personal information from unsuspecting job seekers. This added layer of complexity has resulted in significant financial losses, with the FTC reporting a dramatic increase in job-related scams from 2018 to 2023.
The reality of today’s job market, filled with automated listings and AI-driven scams, is disheartening. It’s led to numerous stories from job seekers working tirelessly, often for months, without securing real employment or even receiving responses from employers. While some argue that job seekers might need better résumés or interviewing skills, the sheer volume of similar stories suggests systemic issues within the hiring processes.
Statistics back up these anecdotal struggles: the average time-to-hire reached a record high of 44 days in 2023, and hiring rates have declined. This difficulty in the job market has even sparked widespread discussion and content creation online, from viral videos to dedicated Wikipedia pages about ghost jobs.
In response to these challenges, job seekers have turned to AI for help. Tools like ChatGPT allow applicants to craft résumés, cover letters, and response strategies with unprecedented efficiency. However, this has only escalated the situation, leading employers to adopt their own AI tools to detect AI-generated applications and conduct automated interviews. The result is a relentless AI arms race with no clear end in sight.
This perpetual cycle has led to a strange new world where AI-generated job listings receive AI-generated applications, which are then processed by multiple layers of AI before potentially leading to AI-conducted interviews and offers. The implication is a future where humans may struggle to find jobs amid a landscape increasingly dominated by AI.
While we grapple with these challenges, at least some things remain trustworthy. For instance, you can trust that this article was written by a real human being … right?