Labor shortages are closely linked to salaries and labor costs—and for many high-skilled areas, global market forces now pertain.
Low-skill workers are having their situation degraded by illegal immigration (and, to a degree, technology), but high-skill workers are more likely to be having their situation degraded by globalization (and, to a degree, technology).
So why are IT wages essentially stagnant? Wage trends are one of the best measures of labor demand. If STEM workers are in short supply, wages should be increasing rapidly. But wage data from multiple sources show little growth over the last 12 years.
Real hourly wages (adjusted for inflation) grew on average just 0.7 percent a year from 2000 to 2012 for STEM workers, and annual wages grew even less — 0.4 percent a year. Wage growth is very modest for most subcategories of engineers and technology workers.