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How long job postings stay open
The median posting in our October 2026 data has been open 29 days, and 23.5% have been open more than 60 days. An old posting is not necessarily a dead one, and a new one is not necessarily a good one. Here is how to read the number.
The short answer
- Posting age is the time since the posting was published or first seen, as our methodology defines it.
- Long-open postings can mean a hard-to-fill role, a slow process, a standing posting for many hires, or a role that is no longer active. The age alone does not tell you which.
- Apply to roles that fit, whatever their age, and ask about status when you speak to a recruiter.
By industry
| Industry | Median days open | Open more than 60 days |
|---|---|---|
| Technology and software | 37 | 37.4% |
| Financial services and insurance | 24 | 17.7% |
| Professional services | 30 | 24.4% |
| Healthcare and life sciences | 22 | 13.5% |
| All industries | 29 | 23.5% |
By metro area
Postings open longest
| Metro area | Median days open | Open more than 60 days | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 56 | 47% | 17,941 |
| Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 50 | 43.5% | 3,705 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 45 | 41.4% | 12,642 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 44 | 41.1% | 10,784 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 44 | 41.8% | 4,540 |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 44 | 41.3% | 410 |
Postings open shortest
| Metro area | Median days open | Open more than 60 days | Postings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 17 | 14% | 572 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 21 | 19.1% | 1,401 |
| Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH | 23 | 22.4% | 340 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 23 | 23.4% | 629 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 23 | 21.5% | 815 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 23 | 23% | 1,228 |
Metro areas with at least 300 postings in our data.
What to do with it
- Treat a very old posting as a prompt to check: does the company page still show it, and has the employer posted similar roles recently?
- Ask the recruiter: "Is this role still open, and where are you in the process?"
- Do not wait for a posting to be "fresh". Apply when you can write a good application.
- We do not call old postings "ghost jobs". Nothing here shows which postings are not being filled.
See also where postings stay open longest and reading the monthly data.
Source: Second Summit, October 2026, from the open postings on employers' own career pages. Methodology
Browse open jobs by role and city, with the pay employers list and who is hiring.