The dramatic rise in employer ghosting is—we’ll just say it—scary

Looking for a job? New data from Glassdoor may not lift your spirits, unfortunately.

Research from Glassdoor shows that job applicants are increasingly being “ghosted” by employers—meaning that after some initial communication about their candidacy, employers are cutting off contact and leaving applicants unsure of their status. By analyzing more than 1 million reviews on the platform left between January 1, 2019, and October 16, 2022, Glassdoor found that the number of interview reviews on the site that mention the term “ghosting” (or similar phrases) is up 98% compared to before the pandemic. In effect, they’ve almost doubled.

The data show that in January 2019, roughly 1.25% of interview reviews mentioned ghosting. The percentage has slowly increased over the past two and a half years, and as of October 2022, more than 3% of reviews include the term.

Perhaps expectedly, Glassdoor also says that job seekers who do mention ghosting in some capacity in their interview reviews are four times more likely to rate their experience as negative. 

“When companies leave candidates in the dark, they risk both blemishing their employer brand and losing out on top talent. When it comes to the interview process, it’s best to be transparent—let the candidate know if you don’t plan to move on with them,” said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor, in a statement. “It allows them to carry on their job search without feeling unsettled.”

Glassdoor’s data may be particularly surprising given that many employers have struggled to find workers and talent over the past year or so. With unemployment remaining low, and millions of unfilled job openings, one would expect employers to be more eager to bring on worthy candidates. Interestingly enough, the increase in ghosting among employers over the past couple of years is merely the continuation of a trajectory that was in place prior to the pandemic—and it’s a two-way street as well, with candidates doing their fair share of ghosting.

For example, at the start of 2022, 16% of job seekers said that they had ghosted employers, and the number increased to more than 20% in May, according to survey data from ZipRecruiter that was shared with Fast Company in July. Fears of an upcoming recession, however, may have tilted the ghosting leverage back to employers for the time being.

Being ghosted—be it from the perspective of a job applicant, or an employer—can be frustrating and disheartening. Recent research on the ghosting trend (which involved people being ghosted by romantic partners) from California Polytechnic State University shows that being ghosted can have profound psychological effects, and may even result in those who’ve been ghosted from “avoiding future vulnerability.” Potentially, that could mean those job seekers simply give up looking for work.

For job applicants who have been ghosted, there may be a silver lining, though. An employer who ghosts a job applicant may be likely to exhibit similar unsavory behaviors toward employees—so, ghosted applicants could be dodging a bullet. That may not necessarily make everyone feel better, but perhaps it’s enough to lift the spirits of at least a few dejected job seekers.