Over Half of Canadians Suspect Applying For “Ghost Jobs”, New Employment Hero Research Reveals

• 56% believe they’ve applied for a “ghost job”
• 64% skip postings with no salary listed
• 70% say employer ghosting impacts their mental health

TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Canadians are losing patience with a hiring process that feels opaque and increasingly one-sided, according to new research from Employment Hero, the global leader in HR, hiring and payroll software.

In a national survey, 56% of Canadian workers surveyed suspect they’ve applied for a “ghost job” – a role advertised without genuine intent to hire. And for many, the search feels tough from the start: 55% say it was difficult to find relevant opportunities that matched their skills and experience in their most recent job hunt.

The findings come as Ontario introduces new hiring requirements designed to improve transparency, including rules requiring employers with 25+ employees to respond to interviewed candidates within 45 days and include salary ranges in job postings.

The shift reflects what job seekers say they’ve been experiencing for some time: 64% report they’ve decided not to apply for a job when salary information wasn’t included in the posting.

Ontarians are optimistic – but not naive, with the research revealing 88% believe the new rules will help, but 95% expect employers to try to find loopholes.

“Ghost jobs” are now a mainstream concern for job seekers

The “ghost job” phenomenon is being felt at a national level. Ontario job seekers were the most likely to report experiencing this, with 61% saying they suspect they’ve applied for a ghost job, compared to 55% in British Columbia and Quebec, and 53% in Alberta.

Silence after applying is frustrating, but for many, it’s also deeply discouraging. The research revealed 70% of job seekers say being ghosted by an employer impacts their mental health and motivation to continue their search, and for 33%, that impact is significant or severe.

That emotional toll may be contributing to lower mobility in the workforce – 78% of job seekers say the challenges of job searching and hiring have discouraged them from looking for a new role in the past.

“Job searching already takes time and emotional energy,” said KJ Lee, CEO of Employment Hero Canada. “When 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’t isolated, they’re shaping the job search experience across Canada.”

Real-world perspective

Daniel Vina, a Toronto-based digital marketing professional with more than 10 years of experience across Venezuela, Chile, the US and Canada, has been navigating unemployment since May 2025 despite a strong track record working across agency and in-house roles for brands including Chevrolet and Huawei. He says he’s submitted close to 500 job applications over the past eight months alone.

Vina said: “I’ve been working in digital marketing for more than a decade, across multiple countries, industries and types of roles, so I came into this job search feeling like I had something real to offer. But the longer it’s gone on, the more discouraging it’s become. At this point, it’s not even the ‘no’ that’s hardest, it’s 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.

“I’m glad Ontario is charting a course toward making job ghosting illegal. Candidates deserve clarity, closure and basic respect, and employers should be held to a standard of communication in the hiring process.”

AI screening is rising, but job seekers want guardrails

With Ontario now requiring employers to disclose when AI is used in hiring, transparency is taking centre stage. And while only 13% of job seekers say it’s acceptable to use AI to screen resumes and one in four would opt out if AI was involved, this is a call for clarity, not a rejection of technology.

“AI can be a powerful tool to help employers hire more efficiently and consistently,” said Lee. “The opportunity is to use it responsibly and be transparent about where it’s used, what it’s 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.”

Ontario job seekers support new rules, but expect loopholes

The survey suggests Ontario job seekers are aware and supportive of the new requirements designed to improve hiring transparency:

• 54% say they are aware of the new rules
• 1 in 5 (20%) say they have already noticed changes to job postings since the legislation came into effect (on January 1, 2026).
• 88% believe the laws will be beneficial for job seekers
• 83% say they feel proud Ontario is leading the way
• 62% believe the laws will make a difference for them personally

Canadians want hiring transparency nationwide

The research suggests there is strong appetite for greater hiring transparency nationwide, with 89% of Canadians agreeing that similar legislation would benefit their province.

“These findings show job seekers across Canada are tired of guessing,” said Lee. “Ontario is helping set a new standard and when employers are clear about pay, process and timelines, candidates stop feeling like they’re shouting into the void. Transparency builds trust and trust builds better hires.”

About Employment Hero

Employment Hero is the global authority on employment, offering a world-leading Employment Operating System (eOS) that simplifies and optimizes every stage of the employment process. Its award-winning platform combines HR, payroll, recruitment, and employee engagement tools with the groundbreaking employment superapp, EH Work, which integrates career management and financial well-being. Serving over 350,000 businesses and managing more than 2 million employees worldwide, Employment Hero reduces administrative burdens by up to 80%, enabling organizations to focus on their goals and create more productive, engaged teams. By revolutionizing the employment marketplace, Employment Hero is making employment easier, more valuable, and rewarding for everyone. For more information, visit http://www.employmenthero.com/en-ca.

Survey Methodology

These findings are from a survey conducted by Employment Hero from January 20-23, 2026, among a representative sample of 1,004 adult (18+) residents of Canada who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. Participants were employed full-time, employed part-time, self-employed, employed on a casual basis, or unemployed and actively looking for work while also being open to new job opportunities and have applied for a job in the past two years. The survey was conducted in English and French. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/-3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.