Why do people think low paying jobs are always hiring and hire everybody?

Why do the truly ignorant believe that just because a place offers a low
wage, that means they're always hiring, have limitless room for more and
more employees, and will hire anyone? I know that financial well being
has removed any grip on reality they might once have had, but you would
think the never ending news reports of record high unemployment and
people on food stamps might give them a clue.

If you go in any retail establishment (except maybe the ones who cater
to the wealthy, like anything expensive), and ask if they are hiring,
they all give you the same answer: no and in fact we're cutting back. On
top of that, when you consider there are now more people unemployed and
in the job market than there has been in decades, and what you have are
full work forces at every place you go and no room for more. Plus with
so many people begging for every job, they can afford to be choosy about
who they hire more so now than ever before.

The people they are hiring are not the countless out of work college
graduates either. They are afraid to invest the time and money into
hiring and training a person they know will leave as soon as a better
job comes along. Sometimes they also think that these people feel the
work is beneath them and will have an attitude. A friend of mine who
runs a restaurant told me himself that when choosing between a high
school kid and a person with a degree, he will almost always hire the
high schooler. A manager at a company I used to work for who did the
hiring for another department that paid far less than I was making, told
me she won't even call a person with an education for an interview. So
in a sense, I actually hurt myself more than help by getting a degree.

I know people with money are out of touch, but if you think all you have
to do to get a job is walk into a place that sells hamburgers then
you're just as stupid as you think the burger flippers are.