THIS.
State jobs require offering the job to the public, but there's often a candidate already in mind. Usually it'll be someone already in a state agency, or nepotism comes into play.
I know a number of people who work for the state that have no special resume or work ethic, but they do have a family member or friend in a more senior position.
My father worked as a journeyman electrician/ in the machine shop for 15 years at the Tumwater brewery. When it shut down, he applied for every state/city position in Lacey and Olympia but heard back nothin'. His church buddy gave him the rundown.
And true, this is everywhere.
At least in the private sector, when I see a software engineering role for $15/hr I know they're just checking off the "we offered the job to the public" box and alerting everyone to this fact.

As far as I know, the state cannot or does not operate with such finesse.