[bermanoid]

Which, to be fair, the article points out right at the top:

"There are multiple theories for the decline in pay, but a common one cited by analysts is simply that the new people being hired are paid less than those already on the job."

[greenyoda]

But these are not necessarily "beginner" jobs: these unemployed people may have been hired back for the same types of jobs they had before, but at lower salaries. If you've been unemployed for a couple of years, you're probably willing to settle for less money just so you could have a job again.

[nknighthb]

Some such instances could conceivably be a simple market correction, too. Some localities particularly entangled by the housing bubble could have had inflated tech salaries as part of general market/cost-of-living forces.

[wtvanhest]

This is unlikely since the housing market topped 5 years ago and may be actually coming out of the bottom finally (we won't know for a few more years)

Another possibility is that there are companies hiring "software developers" for jobs that most HNers wouldn't find interesting because the level of software development is low and hence has a lower waged associated with the value generated.

[nknighthb]

> This is unlikely since the housing market topped 5 years ago and may be actually coming out of the bottom finally

No, that's exactly my point. Hiring would be occurring now because the economy is recovering from the recession, but at corrected wages that do not reflect an artificially bloated cost of living in particular localities.

[ryguytilidie]

"new people being hired are paid less than those already on the job."

Is this surprising at all?

[thedufer]

I...hope not? The point is that a sudden influx of new workers can drive down the average salary, even if the salary distribution isn't changing. By "salary distribution" I mean the curve of salary vs experience/skill level.