The government should impose criminal penalties on companies advertising ghost jobs. I have applied for roles that were never real, wasting time, effort, and money. This is deeply unfair when so many of us genuinely want jobs. Graduates are tired of applying and we are getting nowhere.

The rise of ghost jobs means many adverts don’t lead to real hires, with estimates showing around 30% of UK postings may be ghost listings and not filled, wasting jobseekers’ time and energy. Scams tied to fake job ads have surged, with advanced-fee job scams up 237%, costing victims on average £1,420. We need penalties to protect people seeking genuine work and stop exploitation.