# What in the World

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/what-in-the-world/
- Published: 2026-11-03T14:30:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T23:06:32+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Business (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct990m?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Business

## Key points

- Ghost jobs advertise roles without a current intention to hire.
- The programme cites an estimate of up to 22% of listings in a three-country study.
- Applicants cannot reliably identify a ghost job from silence alone.

## Summary

A BBC World Service episode examines “ghost jobs”: vacancies advertised online when an employer has no present intention of hiring. It cites a study suggesting that up to 22% of online listings examined across the US, UK and Germany last year fell into that category. Employers may use such adverts to gather potential candidates for future openings, while an applicant can spend time preparing a submission without knowing whether a role is available.

The programme speaks to a jobseeker, a business reporter and a career coach about the effect on applicants and ways to assess listings. It also discusses government efforts to restrict misleading adverts. The 22% figure is an estimate from a particular study, not a measure of every vacancy: a listing that remains online or receives no reply is not, by itself, proof that an employer never intended to hire.

## Coverage

- [BBC Business: What in the World](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct990m?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [BBC World Service: The ghost jobs haunting your job hunt](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct990m?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [Apple Podcasts: What in the World: The ghost jobs haunting your job hunt](https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/what-in-the-world/id1696601121)
- [Columbia Law Review: Ghost Jobs](https://columbialawreview.org/content/ghost-jobs/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.