If companies say they can’t find qualified workers, why do so many qualified people struggle to get interviews?

A friend told me their company has been trying to hire a software engineer for almost SIX MONTHS and the position is still sitting on their careers page.

Meanwhile, when I was looking for a summer internship, I sent out close to 200 applications across Canada, the US, and Asia. I was applying on and off for almost a year before I finally ended up with maybe 4–5 offers.

And somehow it was always the same story: the companies I was really excited about rejected me, while the offers I did get were mostly from smaller companies or roles I wasn’t that interested in.

So companies are apparently desperate for people, and people are apparently desperate for jobs… but somehow nobody can find each other??

I don’t understand this labor market anymore... Are companies actually struggling to find qualified people, or are they just looking for a unicorn candidate who checks every single box?