Guidelines for Employers to Reduce "Ghost Job" Postings

Mr Patrick Tay Teck Guan asked the Minister for Manpower (a) whether the Ministry accounts for ghost jobs, referring to job postings that do not exist or that companies do not intend to fill immediately, in its labour data reports; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider releasing guidelines to encourage employers to reduce ghost jobs to build trust and support with jobseekers during the hiring process.

The Ministry of Manpower takes care to ensure that our labour market statistics obtained from employer surveys are robust. All reported vacancies undergo stringent validation, including cross-checks against other data sources, such as MyCareersFuture postings, to confirm that the vacancies are genuine and tied to actual hiring activity. We follow up directly with employers if, for example, vacancies in their companies rise sharply without corresponding hires, or if the same positions are repeatedly reported every quarter without being filled.

These measures improve our data quality and ensure that the statistics we publish reliably reflect actual labour demand. This is reflected in broader hiring trends, where sectors with higher professional, manager, executive and technician (PMET) vacancies have also seen strong growth in resident PMET employment.

We recognise that employers may publish multiple postings across different job portals to maximise chances of securing a suitable candidate. Such practices are part of normal recruitment efforts and do not necessarily indicate fictitious openings. We are continually enhancing job search features on the MyCareersFuture portal such as introducing filters to help jobseekers identify more responsive employers and will continue to engage with employers to encourage responsible posting practices.