What is going on with civil service recruitment?

I have been trying to find a new role for nearly a year now but however hard I try it just is completely hopeless. Have applied for countless applications with a couple of interviews of which got onto the reserve list for one job but never got off. Today I just got back my sift results and failed for an SEO role with scores of 5's and 6's, I just feel if I can't even get an interview with scores like that then what's the point anymore, with all these recruitment freezes on and off over the years it seems like jobs have become more competitive and I am completely stuck. Is anyone else experiencing the same problem applying for roles?