It may seem ridiculous but if you are applying for low skilled jobs you may want to hide your skills or play them down. A hiring manager at Target may somewhat rationally look at your education and think you are going to quit the second you get an offer that fits your education.
Also keep in mind that the economy for you is absolutely atrocious. If there is a job for you at $40,000 then that job is taxed a good 30% or more when you factor in income taxes, FICA taxes, and state and local taxes. On top of that employers have to deal with health care costs if you work full time. In short its a pain in the ass for employers to hire people. Therefore they don't hire even if you can create value for a company.
Maybe that is little consolation but its important to realize that its our politicians in power on both side of the aisle that deliberately create roadblocks for you getting a job. That includes Obama, Romney and Ryan. None of them support seriously cutting taxes on your job. They just care about propping up asset prices for investors and cutting their taxes. Don't be too hard on yourself.