I venture to say that most of those applications are made by people going through the motions with unemployment by searching for a job, with no intention on ever working there. Until last year, I was one of the hiring managers at a Sears store. I could tell when somebody was going through the motions to get their UI, as they would not act professional or put together during the interview. I had one guy literally show up in sweatpants and a severely wrinkled button up shirt, untucked, to the interview. Another interviewee was kind of rude and aggressive. They purposely flub the interviews since the unemployment office only goes as far as confirming whether or not they showed up to the interview. They don't ask about behavior, dress, hygiene, or anything else. It happened more often than not.
I could see why it would be so difficult to get a legit applicant who genuinely wanted to work for Sears.I know it was for me. The ironic and funny thing is was that I was looking for my escape as I desperately tried to bring people in, to very little avail. It was increasingly difficult to "sell" the job to a serious prospect as the pay, the benefits and the company's future was severely wanting, and it sounds like it still is. I was very upfront with pay, the kinds of hours they'd expect, etc. since it would be a waste of time and a disservice to both of us to exaggerate, something another hiring manager liked to do (and wondered why her hires were quitting in less than two weeks).