Ruben Gallego Urges Investigation into Ghost Job Postings on Online Platforms

Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is urging an investigation into the practice of companies posting "ghost jobs" on online hiring platforms in recent letters to the Department of Labor, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

What are Ghost Jobs?

A 2024 article from The Guardian revealed that 40% of companies post job listings that are nonexistent and not meant to be filled. Alleged reasons for this practice include collecting resumes for future hires, providing the illusion of growth, and making current employees work harder for less money to keep their jobs.

Gallego's Demand

With such a practice shockingly widespread, Sen. Gallego wrote, "This impossible job search erodes worker confidence and undermines trust in the labor market."

"This trend is particularly harmful for recent graduates and young workers who do not have professional networks or references that help experienced candidates land jobs, leaving them frustrated as they apply to hundreds of jobs on online hiring platforms," Sen. Gallego continued.

As a result, the Arizona Senator asked the agencies in his letter if they have studied the impact of ghost jobs, if they are taking action to brand ghost jobs as false advertisements, or at least require companies to make it clearer that they are not immediately hiring.

Addressing the Bureau of Labor Statistics specifically, Gallego asked if they intend to study the effects of ghost jobs, the discrepancy between job postings and hires, whether companies have incentives to post ghost jobs, and how ghost jobs distort labor market data.

Previous Calls for Business Oversight

This is not the first time Gallego has urged investigation into businesses for alleged malfeasance.

Last June, the Arizona Senator wrote to Ronald Sargent, CEO of the grocery store chain Kroger, for repeated instances of stores allegedly offering fake discounts.

According to Consumer Reports, many Kroger stores across 14 states had allegedly been charging customers full price for various items, including meat, vegetables, juice, rice, and alcohol, despite the products being advertised as on sale.

One-third of sales tags were kept on the products for ten days after discounts expired, while in five instances, products continued to be advertised as on sale 90 days after the original discount period ended.