Cyprus employers reported 13,905 job vacancies in the first quarter of 2026, but that figure tells jobseekers how many positions businesses say they intend to fill, not whether every advert still appearing online leads to an active recruitment process. 

The largest number of vacancies was recorded in wholesale and retail trade, with 2,649 positions, followed by accommodation and food services with 2,189 and construction with 1,997, according to statistical service (Cystat). 

Professional, scientific and technical activities accounted for another 1,086 vacancies, while telecommunications, computer programming and related information services recorded 530. 

The numbers reflect a labour market that remains relatively strong. Unemployment fell from 5 per cent to 4 per cent in the first quarter, leaving 21,246 people without work. However, the position was less comfortable for younger jobseekers, with unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 rising from 11.2 per cent to 13.1 per cent. 

That group is also more likely to rely heavily on online job platforms and social media when looking for work, making unclear, outdated and repeatedly advertised vacancies particularly costly. 

Cystat uses a strict definition when compiling its vacancy figures. A position must be newly created, unoccupied or about to become vacant, while the employer must be actively seeking a candidate and intending to fill it immediately or within a specified period. 

So-called ghost jobs fall outside that definition. These are listings kept online despite the position having been filled, recruitment being frozen, or the employer having no immediate plan to appoint anyone. Cyprus does not publish separate data tracking how many online advertisements eventually produce a hire. 

International recruitment data, however, shows that the problem is substantial. Hiring platform Greenhouse classified between 18 and 22 per cent of jobs posted through its system during a typical quarter as ghost jobs. Three in five candidates believed they had encountered at least one. 

Companies may keep adverts active to collect CVs for future use, test the availability of workers with particular skills, or maintain a visible recruitment presence. In other cases, adverts are automatically renewed after a vacancy has closed. The result for the applicant is much the same: time spent preparing for a job that is going nowhere. 

AI has made the process faster without necessarily making it better. According to Greenhouse data, 38 per cent of candidates were mass-applying for positions, while recruiter workloads increased by 26 per cent. 

Applicants can now produce dozens of tailored cover letters in minutes. Employers can use automated systems to filter those applications just as quickly. Between the two sits a vacancy that may no longer exist. 

The frustration has spread across TikTok and LinkedIn, where career advisers including Erin McGoff and Jonathan Javier advise applicants to check when a position first appeared, confirm that it is listed on the employer’s website and question roles that are reposted for months without any visible appointment. 

In Cyprus, ghost jobs must also be distinguished from outright recruitment fraud. 

Cyprus Police said in February that it had received complaints about unsolicited messages sent through social media in which fraudsters impersonated a company and offered jobs carrying unusually high pay. The aim was to obtain money or personal information, with recipients directed towards unfamiliar links. 

The police warning came as fake employment messages became increasingly difficult to distinguish from ordinary recruitment approaches. 

Applicants using private recruitment firms also have specific protections. Agencies operating in Cyprus must be licensed and are not allowed to impose direct or indirect fees on employees for finding, securing or maintaining employment, according to the rules covering private agencies. 

The state’s employment service provides free access to registered vacancies and assists employers in finding suitable staff through district labour offices and its online platform. However, a large share of recruitment now takes place through private job boards, LinkedIn, Facebook and direct company advertisements. 

Other jurisdictions have begun forcing employers to be clearer. Since January, certain employers in Ontario must state whether a publicly advertised role represents an existing vacancy and disclose whether AI will be used to screen, assess or select applicants under new recruitment rules. 

New York lawmakers have also passed a transparency bill requiring businesses to disclose whether they genuinely intend to fill an advertised position and provide an expected recruitment timetable. 

The EU is concentrating on the technology used to select workers. Systems that target job advertisements, filter applications and evaluate candidates are classed as high-risk under the EU AI Act, with the main employment-related requirements due to apply from December 2027. 

Those rules will influence how Cypriot employers use AI during recruitment. They will not require them to confirm that an advertised position remains available.

Until that gap is addressed, applicants must do the checking themselves. In Cyprus, an “urgent vacancy” that has survived six months and several rounds of reposting may be urgently seeking attention rather than an employee.