It’s been a long time since I was on the job market, but it was certainly disheartening how low the response ratio was.
I must have sent out 40 applications for every response, even an acknowledgement of receipt was rare.
Because companies want what’s best for them and don’t give a fuck what anyone else wants.
A constant stream of applicants that they ignore 99% of the time means that when they don’t ignore it they can have as many people as they want at their beck and call.