It has been that way for a long time. 

I remember "Computing Canada" publishing a story marvelling at the full IT employment and  shortage of IT professionals during the worst of the RayGun / Lying Brian depression. The article noted that Toronto was the only city in Canada with any unemployed IT geeks, suggesting that those folks must either be posers who didn't really have the required skills or that they were unable to move to another Canadian City because they had negative equity in their GTA homes and were unable to sell and move in the bottomed out home market.

When times are tough process improvement and automation are more important than ever.

My wife and I bought a home with a bargain 16% fully assumable mortgage in 1982 March, one of just 3 homes that changed ownership that month in Greater Victoria BC. Paid it off in 5 years and 9 months, having 2 children and buying a new minivan without a loan along the way. That was 4% advantage over the going rate of 20% at the time.