Capital will just push for ever bigger immigration to counter labour.
China’s population may already be declining. 2022 is likely to be the first time China’s population has declined in over 60 years.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/franklavin/2022/10/12/chinas-de...
(Incidentally, India will overtake China as the world’s most populous country in 2023.)
The „competitive pressure“ will just worsen corporate pressure on local labour. Oh, immigration is getting lower, so we need more tax exemptions for new arrivals! Think „digital nomads“ (or whatever fancy term nowadays) visas.
More importantly, even small changes in demand means immigrants can and will be more picky about where to go.
Growth in their original countries also means a reduced supply of willing candidates. E.g. the UK saw that with Polish immigrants in the building trade who started returning as salaries increased at home, despite the disparity still being huge.
As the demographics shift starts hitting more countries, it's not just that the total number of people in working age in those countries drop, but the proportion of them who has it financially bad enough at home to want to leave drops.
There has always been steady flow of Polish migrant workers to and from the UK. Workers would make money and develop skills in the UK, sometimes remaining permanently but also often returning after a number of years, particularly once you get you the “raising a family” stage in life where lower cost of living and being close to extended family becomes a bigger attraction.
The difference now is that the supply of new workers has been reduced by Brexit, so only those existing workers with residency rights remain. I doubt there has been any significant increase in the number of workers leaving, aside from temporary changes during the pandemic.
The first reports of a massively reduced influx goes as far back as 2008, which is also when we started seeing reports of a significant outflow w/the Home Office estimating in 2008 that about 25% returned.
Some in Europe were labour was manipulated to vote for migration-friendly parties. Although now this seems to be changing with growing economically left but anti-immigration so-called „right wing“ parties.
And plus, even if the "pro-labor" leader would win elections, there's nothing that forbid him/her from following up on the election promises till the end of his/her term. They can just do whatever their campaign donors/lobbyists pay them to do as once their political career is over, they'll have a cushy job guaranteed in the private sector enterprises they "helped" during their term. It's the classic political-private sector revolving dor.
Case in point, all EU leader have promised to tackle housing, and yet, during their terms, housing has gotten more and more out of reach with each passing year, proving that your voted leaders are not on your side, they just claim they are to win your votes. German and Austrian politicians who helped kill nuclear, took major lucrative jobs in Russian oil and gas companies afterwards. The list can go on. We basically have legalized high level corruption.
Pay in the US is attractive, but doesn't make up for what you lose from being in many European countries. Health care, public transport, well maintained roads, better work-life balance, more vacation time, less poverty, won't get murdered in a mass shooting etc. Your mobility as a citizen in the EU is excellent as well, free to travel to so many different cultures.
I live in the UK, and this country is probably going to get much worse. But I still wouldn't trade it just for a higher US salary.