I think during the pandemic a lot of kiwis returned from overseas. Once it was over they slowly started migrating as the economy wasn't really good.

I did the same also to stay close to my wife's family for a few years before returning.

It is pretty common I'd say, not big news. And living here in Spain, apparently the exact same happens.

Young people normally study and work here. Many choose an Erasmus program or find job that pay 2 or 3 times more, especially in Germany, The Netherlands, Poland. We find it really difficult to hire good developers, especially seniors. Juniors are not too hard.