Jobs top 200k but why can't some of us still not get hired?

Today the Labor Department's report on jobs added for last month was bullish again showing that the U.S. economy added about 213,000 new jobs.  An analysis by CNBC (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/06/heres-where-the-jobs-are--in-one-chart.html) points to where these jobs where created and show strong strength in the Professional and Business Services industries in particular.

I fall under that category as a consultant but despite all of the endless talk, discussion and whining by the media and supposedly by employers that they can't find workers, I (and others like me) still can't find a job.  I'm in a supposedly "hot" market in the West Coast where unemployment is supposed to be low and job growth decent.  I have years of experience in my field and am open to any possibilities.  Yet, when I apply for jobs, consulting gigs or even temporary help, I don't get any bites.  What's the deal with me and others like me?

Well perhaps the media is only focusing on the big picture numbers and not diving deeper into the actual industries AND regions where jobs really are scarce.  Manufacturing, construction and health care are all areas with labor shortages as are regions in the Midwest where typically, younger workers are leaving for greener (and probably warmer) pastures.  They also are probably typically paid lower wages than people like myself with years of experience even though we're open on salary levels.

So why are the employers complaining that there are no workers?  My view is that the narrow-minded Human Resources professionals typically see resumes like mine that either show extensive work experience or previous consulting work and automatically dismiss us.  Why?  Because either they think we'll be too costly in terms of salary or that we'll leave after a couple of months to go back to consulting.  So instead of talking with us, they throw us in the reject pile and then complain to their bosses that they can't find anyone (i.e. labor shortage).

How about you?  Do you fall in the same boat and have been looking for a job for a while with no luck?  I'd love to hear your stories and more here.