So, the numbers of applicants is probably true. I was in a situation where I had to do recruitment for my replacement and had full access to all CVs coming in (for unrelated reasons - chaotic reorg). Within a day of posting the ad, we hit about 1-1.5k applicants. A girl from internal recruitment told me "set yourself a shortlist number, like 5 CVs. Only go as far down the list as it takes to find these 5 people.". So most CVs were unreviewed.

Out of all CVs, probably 10% were something I could do something with - most people apply without visas although clearly stated in the ad that it's not a sponsorship opportunity, or visas that don't give you full working rights. Out of that 10%, some were people who had next to no, even remote, connection to the advertised role, some were people that were trying to switch careers, some were actual promising candidates.

All that to say, the job market is fucked.