New report calls for 'human touch' amid tech adoption in recruitment
Fake jobs and applications are eroding trust in the hiring process, a new report has warned, urging organisations to bring back the "human touch" in recruitment to improve outcomes.
Employers in iHire's 2026 State of Online Recruiting Report cited fake or fraudulent applicants as a top online recruiting challenge (19.2%), with nearly a quarter (23.6%) of organisations saying they received at least one in the past year.
Jobseekers, on the other hand, said fake, fraudulent, or "ghost" jobs are a chief job search challenge (39.3%), with 41.2% saying they encountered a fake or scam job in the past year.
Some 42.8% of candidates also said they are growing frustrated with determining whether a job or employer on a recruiting platform is legitimate, while 57.5% are frustrated by not knowing whether they will hear back from employers they have applied to.
"Our research shows that trust, transparency, and human connection matter more than ever in recruiting," said Steve Flook, iHire's president and chief executive officer, in a statement.
"Employers are receiving unqualified and sometimes fraudulent applicants, and job seekers are questioning whether opportunities are legitimate and if they'll hear back after applying."
AI in hiring hits trust
The trust issues come in the wake of growing negative perceptions on employers who are using artificial intelligence (AI) in their hiring process.
Gartner's findings last year revealed that 25% of job candidates trust employers less if AI is used to evaluate their information.
The latest iHire report echoes these findings, with 44.3% of jobseekers saying they view employers' increasing use of AI negatively.
But the proportion of employers using AI has actually gone down, according to the iHire report, with just 24.2% saying they currently use AI in recruiting, down from 25.9% in 2025.
Administrative and content-related tasks were the top use cases for AI, including writing job ads (66.2%), composing candidate communications (62.3%), and automatically sending messages (31.2%).
Some 29.9% of employers use AI to screen applicants or CVs, according to the report.
'Human touch' needed in hiring process
The report argues that addressing the growing trust issues between employers and jobseekers in the hiring process will require a "human touch" amid technological adoption.
It added that salary transparency is also critical, as 60.7% of jobseekers said they would not apply to a company if its job posting did not provide salary information.
It further argued that employer branding is important, as 70.4% of jobseekers said they visit a company's website before applying. Jobseekers also said they first review an organisation's profile on the job board (45.1%) and read employee testimonials (35.2%).
"Moving forward, companies that blend the human touch with technology, promote a strong employer brand, and provide a positive candidate experience will be best positioned to find the right talent," Flook said.
