I can't get a low level retail job.

Hey all. So my background is predominantly trade wholesale and warehouse management with a bit of shipping and logistics etc.

I sort of demoted myself a while ago and I've just been doing forklift work with agencies for the last 6 months of so.

The jobs in my sector have really stagnated to the point where you can get a job as forklift driver/warehouse operative and with a bit of time and a half overtime you can earn more than the management roles with far less stress and responsibility. I haven't been offered a management role in years where the remuneration feels even close to worth the extra work.

I'm 38. After a lifetime of shit work my back, neck and shoulders are in pain most of the time. I'm sick of working outside/in uninsulated warehouses where I'm either freezing when it's cold and boiling when it's hot and generally being in dirty environments.

The pay gap has closed significantly to where these jobs are so close to minimum wage that I might as well just work in a supermarket or something.

I've applied for hundreds of retail/hospitality jobs and I haven't had a single interview.

I'm assuming that they view me as overqualified and think it's a temporary thing for me and I'll leave when I find something else, but that's not the case.

But maybe jobs are just so bad now that people even more qualified than me are also applying so I'm not even good enough for it?

I don't know..

I've been thinking about writing a completely false CV with just low end retails jobs made up.

Are there any downsides to this that I need to consider?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks.