Earlier quoted context omitted.
My experience is that this is an ongoing problem. For years there have been relatively few junior positions. No company wants to train people.
This also means that if you can afford to hire junior folks, you can get some real go-getters for a great (read, favorable to the company) salary. But even junior salaries are going up, I've noticed.
I don't know. I feel like most dev compensation is kind of random. Like does that senior really produce $40k more in value per year?