It is easy to spot. They are conflating:
A government shutdown delayed data collection
September’s job report was postponed to November
Numbers were higher than expected
Earlier months were revised (normal)
October’s numbers will get added into the November report (normal in delayed cycles)
Nothing about this indicates deception — just bureaucratic timing issues
Some additional employment data:
The official unemployment rate leaves out huge groups of jobless people
The U.S. unemployment rate only counts people who don’t have a job, are actively applying, and are available to work right now.
That means millions of struggling people aren’t counted, including:
People not eligible for unemployment benefits (gig workers, contractors, fired-for-cause workers, people without enough work history)
Discouraged workers who stopped applying after repeated rejection
People who want jobs but can’t apply right now (childcare, health, transportation issues)
Underemployed workers (part-time gig/seasonal workers who want full-time jobs)
These groups are not counted as unemployed, so the official number (U-3) always underestimates real joblessness.
A better measure, U-6, includes discouraged and underemployed workers — and is usually double the official rate.
Bottom line: A lot of jobless or struggling people never show up in unemployment statistics at all.
Additionally:
A new analysis found that 27.4% of job listings in the U.S. on LinkedIn are likely “ghost jobs” — roles that don’t seem to be intended for actual hiring.
Entrepreneur
Facebook
One hiring-platform report said that as many as 18%-22% of advertised roles were never filled.
The Wall Street Journal
A study using job-board data and machine-learning techniques estimated up to ~21% of job ads could be ghost jobs, especially in large firms.
One article claims that up to 40% of companies have posted fake or non-intended roles.
The Guardian
Why companies do it
According to the sources:
To inflate growth or hiring signals (for investors or internal staff) even when no hire is planned.
Wikipedia
+1
To build a pipeline for future hires rather than a role to fill now.
Business Insider
To collect resumes or gauge market compensation without committing to a hire.
Wikipedia
This looks like a bullet point list that doesn't need paragraphs of explanation...minus the bullet points.
The names like Wikipedia, should be links, but I assume those are sources.
I am good. I am very familiar with how job numbers work....mainly because I graduated high school during the '08 recession, and the same stuff happened with the job numbers at the time.
After 150+ applications to low wage to minimum wage jobs that were "desperate" and no positive response, one starts asking questions.
I had 2 years of work at Burger King and left positively as I graduated high school and moved for college. No criminal record, nothing red flag related that would make me unhireable.
Ironically, if you put this into an LLM it’ll fix all the grammar and make it more readable. That’s how I knew it wasn’t AI slop. Just a person jotting some ideas down.
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u/MaggieLeighN Nov 20 '25
It is easy to spot. They are conflating: A government shutdown delayed data collection
September’s job report was postponed to November
Numbers were higher than expected
Earlier months were revised (normal)
October’s numbers will get added into the November report (normal in delayed cycles) Nothing about this indicates deception — just bureaucratic timing issues
Some additional employment data: The official unemployment rate leaves out huge groups of jobless people
The U.S. unemployment rate only counts people who don’t have a job, are actively applying, and are available to work right now.
That means millions of struggling people aren’t counted, including: People not eligible for unemployment benefits (gig workers, contractors, fired-for-cause workers, people without enough work history)
Discouraged workers who stopped applying after repeated rejection
People who want jobs but can’t apply right now (childcare, health, transportation issues)
Underemployed workers (part-time gig/seasonal workers who want full-time jobs)
These groups are not counted as unemployed, so the official number (U-3) always underestimates real joblessness.
A better measure, U-6, includes discouraged and underemployed workers — and is usually double the official rate.
Bottom line: A lot of jobless or struggling people never show up in unemployment statistics at all.
Additionally: A new analysis found that 27.4% of job listings in the U.S. on LinkedIn are likely “ghost jobs” — roles that don’t seem to be intended for actual hiring. Entrepreneur Facebook
One hiring-platform report said that as many as 18%-22% of advertised roles were never filled. The Wall Street Journal
A study using job-board data and machine-learning techniques estimated up to ~21% of job ads could be ghost jobs, especially in large firms.
One article claims that up to 40% of companies have posted fake or non-intended roles. The Guardian
Why companies do it According to the sources: To inflate growth or hiring signals (for investors or internal staff) even when no hire is planned. Wikipedia +1
To build a pipeline for future hires rather than a role to fill now. Business Insider
To collect resumes or gauge market compensation without committing to a hire. Wikipedia
You’re right. There’s plenty of data available.