Recent research has cast a spotlight on an unsettling trend in Wolverhampton, pinpointing it as one of the prime locales in the UK plagued by online ‘ghost jobs’. Such deceitful practices, where firms advertise phantom vacancies, can deeply frustrate job seekers and waste their time.
An exhaustive study spearheaded by another company examined over 91,000 job advertisements across the UK’s 30 most significant urban areas. Their findings? A staggering 34.4% of online job adverts turned out to be ‘ghost jobs’, or positions that were either non-existent or long filled. This unsettling trend has seen growth, especially as the job market heats up and competition intensifies.
Islington in London topped the chart with an alarming 26.1% of job listings proven to be ghost vacancies. This was followed closely by Southend-On-Sea at 23.7% and Birkenhead at 22.7%. Wolverhampton wasn’t far behind, sitting at a concerning 22.5%.
In the realm of IT, our focus as a dedicated IT recruitment firm, the statistics become even more concerning. Software engineers are the second most targeted by this misleading practice, with 46.5% of their job listings identified as ‘ghosts’. The only sector faring worse was veterinary nursing, where a whopping 59.1% of advertised positions were deceptive.
A CV company director, shed some light on these dubious listings. He advised job seekers to proceed with caution regarding ads older than 30 days. Andrew suggests candidates should always take an extra step to verify a position’s authenticity, especially when job descriptions are vague or posted long ago.
He remarked, “Ghost job listings aren’t new, but their prevalence has escalated. Especially for high-skilled roles like software engineering, these misleading ads are rife. I always urge candidates to do their homework and, if in doubt, reach out to recruiters directly, preferably through platforms like LinkedIn.”
At Colossus, we pride ourselves on our unyielding integrity and transparency. As a reputed IT recruitment agency, we’re deeply concerned by the prevalence of these ‘ghost jobs’, especially in the software engineering sector. Job seekers can be assured that our listings are both genuine and up-to-date. We stand by our commitment to honesty and always putting the best interests of our clients and candidates first.
21st September 2023
