Finnish job board to crack down on ghost job listings after investigation

Finnish authorities will introduce stricter rules and monitoring to eliminate misleading job postings on the state-run Työmarkkinatori (Labour Market Square) platform, following an investigative report by public broadcaster Yle’s MOT programme that exposed widespread “ghost job” listings, the broadcaster reports.

The overhaul includes a ban on collecting applicant databases through repeated job postings—a common practice among temp agencies—and new tools to detect duplicate listings. The goal is to ensure more accurate statistics on open positions, after the MOT investigation found that recycled postings inflated monthly job figures by thousands.

“It stopped like hitting a wall” Jobseeker Henri Rantala from Kokkola noticed the change early this year when familiar listings vanished from Työmarkkinatori after the MOT report aired. Last autumn, he told Yle that one temp agency had admitted a posted “job” did not actually exist. “They’ve clearly realised it doesn’t fly anymore,” Rantala said.

New rules and surveillance tools Labour Minister Matias Marttinen (National Coalition Party) demanded swift action after MOT revealed the scale of the issue. Updated Työmarkkinatori guidelines now explicitly prohibit reposting the same job to boost visibility, citing distortions in statistics and public perception.

The Employment, Development, and Administrative Centre (KEHA), which operates the platform, has prepared an eight-page memo outlining system changes. A new monitoring app, set for rollout this autumn, will flag listings reposted every 1–3 weeks for nearly identical roles. Until then, KEHA will provide regional data packages highlighting employers and agencies frequently posting duplicate listings.

Industry pushback Staffing industry group HELA warned against overcorrection, arguing that advance recruitment for seasonal or project-based work—such as in Lapland’s tourism sector, battery factories, or data centres—should remain permitted. “We shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” said HELA CEO Merru Tuliara.

Local enforcement While temp agencies often post directly from their own systems, local employment offices handle oversight. Vantaa’s employment services chief Susanna Taipale-Vuorinen welcomed the tools, noting they will help officials justify suspicions of fake listings. Violations may take up to three weeks to address, allowing employers a chance to correct posts before potential removal by administrative decision.

Rantala, who has spent two years searching for permanent metalwork jobs in Kokkola, hopes listings will soon clarify which client a temp agency is hiring for—a change not included in the reforms. Agencies will, however, now be required to provide authorities with precise client details (business ID and location), aiding detection of suspicious activity.