Yes in many cases they got out of tech. One of the nice things about tech careers is that your floor is most other people's ceiling. Having tech skills in the early 2000s created a large gap between you and other office workers. Imagine if being able to read/write was a rare skill. It would make you generally competitive in many areas, because you could learn and communicate better than your peers.
I went into banking because I already knew a few people in the field and they were desperate for people. Did really well, set a bunch of performance records, put on track for various promotions/advancement. Strongly considered never returning to tech despite it being my passion. Eventually I couldn't stay away from tech, but it took some time.
It also discouraged many new students from entering CS programs. This is why the 'talent shortage' lasted so long. It wasn't just a mass exodus of existing tech pros, but also a sharp decline in people pursuing tech careers. The high school class of 2002-2004 was much less likely to consider pursuing a tech degree. This is the reason you can't find piles of skilled/cheap early career programmers with 5 years experience in 2012. That means they would have graduated in 2007 and selected their undergrad program in 2002-2003.