You and I are the same age and appear to have had similar experiences, just different places. My town was medium-sized (12K) in southern Kansas and I recall seeing similar stories back then yet I found work. Sometimes, work found me as a neighbor worked for the state employment service and regularly called me for jobs they had on the board. Lots of unloading of trucks with one longer gig working on a local hog farm.
I worked on a loading dock for a transfer company when I was 18..................