I don't know about where he lives, but here there's a surplus of labour over and above what's the natural effect of churn which means that not only all there always be a large number of unemployed people but that the employers can (and have to) filter out most applications on crude assumptions, which means they tend to reject those who have been unemployed for any significant length of time. This is exacerbated by the government's requirement that people on the dole apply for jobs even if there are none for which they are qualified or competent, which just creates a flood of no-hope applicants and wastes everyone's time.