Since everybody wants a white collar job, these employers have more than enough candidates. So they use the opportunity to make applicants jump through as many hoops as they can come up with knowing they can get away with it. I've read stories about applicants enduring 8-15 rounds of interviews, even being asked to do unpaid work assignments, to be considered for a position.
I received an email today asking me to report for a two hour assessment for some job I applied for more than a month ago. Not an interview — a two hour exam. I had a full time job at the time I applied, where the fuck was I supposed to find 2-3 hours off work to do some test on top of multiple interviews thereafter. Oh right, that's my problem.
It sure felt good to tell them I've already accepted an offer at another company that didn't make me jump through a bunch of bitch-ass hoops during the application process.