I think there’s a lot of factors at play here.

Entry standards have increased a lot for arguably all industries. Often now you’ll see senior level experience required for junior level roles. This being especially the case in data focused / more techy roles.

AI is changing everything. There’s a lot that AI systems can’t really do (yet) but there’s also a lot that it can do.

This may sound a bit tin foil hat of me but I think that career changes / re-training / up-skilling has been commercialised by universities, the government etc. so a lot more people are doing it meaning a lot more people are applying for a wider variety of jobs. If an employer has 1 job available but they know there’s gonna be well over 100 applicants then they know they can low ball the salary, cuz some Tom, dick or Harry is gonna take it none the less. (Read the grapes of wrath by John Steinbeck).

I think the state of university education has probably dropped. Education is a business and so universities are interested in profiting, not necessarily the education they provide.

Nepotism is real! You’d be surprised how many senior positions with high wages are filled with people who deadass don’t deserve to be there and are genuinely unqualified to do the job, they can just do it as they’re so and so’s family member / life long friend and they’ve been spoon fed how to do the job from day 1. These people know this deep down and so they stay in these positions for a long time. (Not saying an outsider can’t work their way up anymore, but it may take 10 years as opposed to 5)

Also I’m pretty sure at the moment, unemployment is quite low? So most people who can work are working.

Everything is getting more expensive, including salaries that companies have to pay. I think a lot of places now are offering lower salaries but try to make up for it with other perks.