“Why is it so hard to find employment these days?”
1. People with job credentials that are in demand would disagree with you. In those areas, employers complain how hard it is to find qualified workers.
2. At the bottom of market place (for those with minimal job skills), the minimum wage and required employee benefits price many people out of the market (in other words, if you can’t produce $10/hour of extra profit for the company, they save money by not hiring you).
3.Everyone has trouble getting a “first” job unless they have solid training and credentials (okay, everyone whose family doesn’t own a company). Working part time, or as a sub, or as an unpaid intern, etc., are ways of starting off a resume and convincing empolyers you are capable of being an employee.
4. Why don’t you mention what sort of job you are looking for, where, and what your credentials are? The fact you mentioned that you were relying on connections suggest you may have a problem.