{"id":12393,"date":"2026-01-26T23:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T04:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/?post_type=news&p=12393"},"modified":"2026-02-01T21:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T02:02:13","slug":"ghost-jobs-canada-hiring-transparency","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/news\/ghost-jobs-canada-hiring-transparency\/","title":{"rendered":"Ghost jobs are haunting Canadians, and they\u2019re fed up"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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It\u2019s the silence that gets to you. You spend hours tailoring your resume, fine-tuning a cover letter that doesn\u2019t sound robotic, maybe even take a day off work to show up well-rehearsed to an interview. You click submit. And then? Nothing. No response, no follow-up: just digital tumbleweeds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to new research from 91±¬ΑΟ, that experience isn\u2019t unique. It\u2019s the norm. In a nationally representative survey of more than 1,000 Canadians, 56 per cent said they suspect they\u2019ve applied for a \u201cghost job,\u201d a role that was advertised without any real intent to hire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this isn\u2019t just about inconvenience. It\u2019s about erosion of trust. The hiring process, once a gateway to opportunity, is now increasingly seen as a black box. People are putting in the effort, only to be met with silence. That\u2019s not just frustrating, it\u2019s demoralizing. \u201cJob searching already takes time and emotional energy,\u201d said KJ Lee, CEO of 91±¬ΑΟ Canada. \u201cWhen candidates are met with silence, unclear pay expectations or roles that may not be real, it creates a trust problem in hiring. This research shows these frustrations aren\u2019t isolated, they\u2019re shaping the job search experience across Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That trust problem has become loudest in Ontario, where new legislation<\/a> came into effect on 1 January 2026. Employers with 25 or more staff are now required to include salary ranges in job postings and respond to all interviewed candidates within 45 days. While 88 per cent of job seekers in Ontario believe these new laws will help, a staggering 95 per cent also expect companies to try to find loopholes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why ghost jobs are damaging more than just careers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Being ghosted doesn\u2019t just waste your time. It chips away at your confidence. The data shows that 70 per cent of job seekers say being ghosted by an employer has impacted their mental health and motivation to continue searching. One in three says the impact has been significant. And the effect isn\u2019t felt equally. Younger workers are hit harder, with 73 per cent of 18 to 34-year-olds reporting mental health impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Vina, a Toronto-based digital marketing professional, knows the feeling all too well. With more than 10 years of experience across Venezuela, Chile, the US and Canada, and roles at major brands like Chevrolet and Huawei, he\u2019s still navigating unemployment after being laid off in May 2025. \u201cI\u2019ve submitted close to 500 job applications in the past eight months,\u201d he said. \u201cAt this point, it\u2019s not even the \u2018no\u2019 that\u2019s hardest; it\u2019s the silence. You put in the work to tailor an application, you take time off to interview, you follow up professionally and then you hear nothing. No update, no closure, no acknowledgement that you exist in the process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That emotional weight is one reason 78 per cent of job seekers say they\u2019ve been discouraged from looking for a new role in the past. And it\u2019s not just about being rejected. It\u2019s the feeling of being invisible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ontario\u2019s move to legislate against ghosting is a direct response to this growing frustration. And while it\u2019s early days, there are signs of change: one in five job seekers say they\u2019ve already noticed differences in how jobs are advertised since the new laws came into effect. But the rest of Canada isn\u2019t content to wait and see. Across provinces, 89 per cent of job seekers believe similar rules would benefit them, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pay transparency and AI are fuelling a new wave of job search anxiety<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alongside ghost jobs, pay secrecy is another sore spot. Sixty-four per cent of Canadians say they\u2019ve decided not to apply for a role because salary details weren\u2019t included. That\u2019s not a preference, it\u2019s a pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employers may think withholding salary ranges gives them leverage. The opposite is proving true. When a job listing is vague, candidates walk away. And when they\u2019re met with silence after applying, they lose faith in the whole system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI is also reshaping the conversation. With Ontario now requiring employers to disclose when AI is used in hiring, transparency is taking centre stage. And while only 13 per cent of job seekers are fully comfortable with AI screening resumes on its own, this isn\u2019t a rejection of tech: it\u2019s a call for clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because when people understand how decisions are made, trust builds. And that\u2019s exactly where AI can shine. \u201cAI can be a powerful tool to help employers hire more efficiently and consistently,\u201d said Lee. \u201cThe opportunity is to use it responsibly and be transparent about where it\u2019s used, what it\u2019s doing, and where human oversight sits in the process. When candidates understand how decisions are made, it builds confidence and improves the hiring experience for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 91±¬ΑΟ, we see AI as an enabler, not a replacement. It\u2019s about removing inefficiencies, not empathy. Used well, it can fast-track great talent into roles that suit them, reduce bias and bring consistency to the parts of hiring that too often feel unpredictable. And that\u2019s what candidates want: clear, human-centred hiring that doesn\u2019t leave them in the dark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across Canada, the message from job seekers is clear: they want visibility. On pay. On process. On whether the job actually exists. Ontario\u2019s setting the pace, but the rest of the country is watching. Ghost jobs might have haunted the last few years, but in 2026, it\u2019s time to move forward. When people take the time to apply, they deserve more than silence. They deserve answers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than half of Canadian job seekers say they\u2019ve applied for jobs that don\u2019t actually exist. Ghost jobs are creating real frustration\u2014and the emotional toll is changing how people approach work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":12741,"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"exclude_from_algolia":false,"author_id":0,"reading_time":"4 min read","display_reading_time":false},"categories":[264],"tags":[],"post_features":[],"class_list":["post-12393","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/12393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12393"},{"taxonomy":"post_features","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/employmenthero.com\/en-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_features?post=12393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}