The Ghosting Index 2026

    The industries most likely to ghost you

    We measured response times and reply rates across 14 industries and 5 company-size buckets. The result is a public, citable ranking of where applicants get ignored — and where they get a real answer.

    See the full ranking
    71%
    of applicants ghosted in Retail
    12 days
    cross-industry average response time
    26%
    ghosted after a first interview

    The full ranking

    RankIndustryGhost rateResponse timePost-interview ghost
    #1Retail71%14 days38%Detail →
    #2Hospitality68%12 days41%Detail →
    #3Logistics & Warehousing64%11 days33%Detail →
    #4Media & Publishing62%17 days36%Detail →
    #5Advertising & Marketing Agencies58%13 days31%Detail →
    #6Non-profit & NGO57%21 days29%Detail →
    #7Construction55%10 days28%Detail →
    #8Technology & SaaS51%9 days26%Detail →
    #9Finance & Banking47%8 days22%Detail →
    #10Consulting & Professional Services44%7 days21%Detail →
    #11Healthcare & Pharma42%8 days18%Detail →
    #12Manufacturing & Industrial40%9 days19%Detail →
    #13Public Sector & Government36%18 days14%Detail →
    #14Education & Academia32%11 days12%Detail →

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