{ "name": "ATS Statistics, Traced to Their Primary Sources", "description": "The most-quoted applicant tracking system statistics traced to their primary sources, with a verdict and last-checked date for each claim.", "url": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics", "creator": "Andrew Johnson", "publisher": "OneTwo Resume", "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/", "dateModified": "2026-09-21", "lastChecked": "2026-09-19", "distribution": { "csv": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics/ats-statistics.csv", "json": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics/ats-statistics.json" }, "citation": "Andrew Johnson, “ATS Statistics, Traced to Their Primary Sources,” OneTwo Resume, last checked 2026-09-19, https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics", "note": "A verdict of 'No primary source' means the listed sources are where the number was repeated, not evidence for it.", "claims": [ { "id": "claim-75-percent", "claim": "“75% of resumes are rejected by an ATS before a human sees them”", "verdict": "No primary source", "what_the_primary_source_says": "Attributed to Preptel, a resume-optimization vendor that shut down its service in August 2013. No study, sample or method has ever been published.", "primary_sources": [ "https://rwdigest.blogspot.com/2013/08/prepel-is-shutting-down-its-service-on.html", "https://www.cio.com/article/284414/applicant-tracking-system.html", "https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/28/resume-how-yours-can-beat-the-applicant-tracking-system.html", "https://www.ere.net/articles/why-you-cant-get-a-job-recruiting-explained-by-the-numbers", "https://enhancv.com/blog/does-ats-reject-resumes/", "https://hrtact.com/2020/10/05/your-job-application-was-rejected-by-a-human-not-a-computer/" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-75-percent" }, { "id": "claim-fortune-500", "claim": "“98–99% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS”", "verdict": "Verified", "what_the_primary_source_says": "Jobscan’s annual review of all 500 careers sites: 97.4% in 2026 (487 of 500), 97.8% in 2025, 98.4% in 2024, 98.8% in 2019. It measures a detectable ATS — not auto-rejection.", "primary_sources": [ "https://www.jobscan.co/blog/fortune-500-use-applicant-tracking-systems/" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-fortune-500" }, { "id": "claim-harvard-99", "claim": "“Harvard found that 99% of Fortune 500 companies use an ATS”", "verdict": "Misattributed", "what_the_primary_source_says": "The Harvard Business School report (2021, p. 20) quotes Jobscan’s 2019 figure in a footnote. It is the same data point, not independent confirmation.", "primary_sources": [ "https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/research/hiddenworkers09032021.pdf" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-harvard-99" }, { "id": "claim-six-seconds", "claim": "“Recruiters spend 6–7 seconds on a resume”", "verdict": "Partly verified", "what_the_primary_source_says": "Ladders eye-tracking studies: about 6 seconds in 2012 (30 recruiters, 10 weeks) and 7.4 seconds in 2018 — for the initial fit/no-fit screen only. Vendor research, not peer-reviewed.", "primary_sources": [ "https://www.bu.edu/com/files/2018/10/TheLadders-EyeTracking-StudyC2.pdf", "https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ladders-updates-popular-recruiter-eye-tracking-study-with-new-key-insights-on-how-job-seekers-can-improve-their-resumes-300744217.html", "https://web.archive.org/web/2020/https://www.theladders.com/static/images/basicSite/pdfs/TheLadders-EyeTracking-StudyC2.pdf" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-six-seconds" }, { "id": "claim-75-employers", "claim": "“75% of employers use an ATS”", "verdict": "Partly verified", "what_the_primary_source_says": "HBS/Accenture 2021 survey: 75% of U.S. employers use a recruiting management system (63% across the U.S., U.K. and Germany). Often confused with the 75%-rejected claim.", "primary_sources": [ "https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/research/hiddenworkers09032021.pdf" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-75-employers" }, { "id": "claim-filter-rank", "claim": "“Over 90% of employers use software to filter or rank candidates”", "verdict": "Verified", "what_the_primary_source_says": "HBS/Accenture 2021: more than 90% of surveyed employers use their RMS to initially filter or rank middle-skills (94%) and high-skills (92%) candidates.", "primary_sources": [ "https://www.hbs.edu/managing-the-future-of-work/Documents/research/hiddenworkers09032021.pdf" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-filter-rank" }, { "id": "claim-250", "claim": "“Every corporate job opening attracts 250 resumes”", "verdict": "No primary source", "what_the_primary_source_says": "Stated without a source in a May 2013 ERE column and repeated in a January 2015 Glassdoor post. Neither publishes a dataset, sample or method.", "primary_sources": [ "https://www.ere.net/articles/why-you-cant-get-a-job-recruiting-explained-by-the-numbers", "https://www.glassdoor.com/employers/blog/50-hr-recruiting-stats-make-think/" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-250" }, { "id": "claim-workday", "claim": "“Workday is the most-used ATS among large companies”", "verdict": "Verified", "what_the_primary_source_says": "Jobscan: 39.2% of the Fortune 500 in 2025 and “over 40%” in 2026. Outside the Fortune 500 the picture differs: Greenhouse 19.0%, Workday 17.5%, Lever 15.6%, iCIMS 14.4%.", "primary_sources": [ "https://www.jobscan.co/blog/fortune-500-use-applicant-tracking-systems/" ], "last_checked": "2026-09-19", "page_anchor": "https://www.onetworesume.com/research/ats-statistics#claim-workday" } ] }