Every year you have to pay more money to afford the same. The same applies for skill.
Borrowed an old Master Thesis of a professor from the 80s. He had just 15 books as literature and it was just 60 written pages long. Some pages were only half or one quarter full. Today this would barely pass as a Bachelor Thesis.
During his entire Masters he had only some 30 exams – today the same Masters has 60 and probably also twice the knowledge and learning load.
This applies not only to accademia but the job market as well. They want you to speak several languages where 20 years ago one sufficed. They want you to know several Programms and applications where 30 years ago one was enough.
The work load is probably 2-3x greater than 20 years ago – they expect you to be rechable 24/7 and work during your vaccation. Emails and teams messages make the amount of work you can receive 100 greater than before their time.
Every year they demand more qualifications and skills for minimal wage increases. No wonder workers are exhausted and dont want to work. Because far more is demanded from them compared to 30 years ago.