Having had several dozen interviews over the last few days, I've not only noticed how employers will immediately take a tone when they tell me how much a position is and I tell them that it is several thousand less than my last position, to the point of where they tell you “it's better than nothing/more than 0” or “this position doesn't pay that much anyway” or “you can always earn more as you progress up the ladder” to where I've even heard the same change of tone when they tell me how much it is per hour and I ask them to hold for one moment while I put that number into a calculate and multiply by 160. You can hear that note of irritation or just a slight hint of hostility before I even tell them the answer.
They really do want us all desperate, do they? Like, they really want you to just take what you can get and be glad that you're not starving?
Mf I've only been unemployed for two weeks and I have quite a bit of savings, there's a reason I'm shopping.