[alephnerd]

Wages are not significantly lower.

For example, Trump's H1B prevailing wages rules are still in place so at most the salary difference is 15-20% (which is basically nil as a hiring manager)

In "lower skilled labor" like manual Construction the average wages tend to be middle of the pack for those states [0]

For white collar jobs, the biggest driver for the slowing hiring market is the fact that companies have shown that they can operate in a global async manner, which means shareholders and board members like my Peers are increasingly pushing for hiring abroad as a way to speed delivery.

[0] - https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes472061.htm