There was a year or two of relief for job seekers in the wake of the COVID19 half-measures where higher-ups had their HR departments unclench their worthless assholes just enough to give someone a chance at actually getting hired. It was, in my lived experience, much easier to get favorable responses to applications and then 'pass' interviews in 2020 and 2021 than at any other point in my life, including right now. Your suspicions are correct, businesses are absolutely back to cherrypicking applicants, it's like trying to get hired during the 2008-2009 peak of recession again.
student loan ~~extortion~~ repayment resumes for no reason at all
Less money in your pocket
As far as I'm aware:
A landleech has no way of seeing your wage after you give the initial application with proof of income. I've lived in many places and signed multiple lease renewals all while changing or losing jobs many times. The only thing that mattered was that first application, none of the lease renewals required ongoing proof of income.
In the U.S. there's a government tax/income database (presumably the IRS) reachable over the internet where all income and employers are logged and searchable. I believe state welfare agencies and related (such as subsidized housing) get full access to this treasure trove but I don't know if private business and individuals can.
Generally, government jobs will have openly disclosed wage schedules given that they're publicly funded. A government employee can't really hide their income if someone wants to know it.
Knowing a non-government employee's precise wage at any point in time or being aware of a raise would require direct communication with the employer, so if someone like a private landleech is privy to that kind of info, there's probably some very illegal and/or unethical shit going on.
DEATH PANELS!!!11!!1