Not good because the population is consumers who indirectly pay those workers. In my country there's a relative shortage of builders. So house prices are higher

Not good because the population is consumers who indirectly pay those workers. In my country there's a relative shortage of builders. So house prices are higher so tenants pay more rent than before. The western world also has a chronic shortage of engineers so we have to pay more for engineering services than for, say, babysitting services. But you're still right, the term is just framing. Like when the exchange rate or property prices go up or down, it's presented as either good or bad depending on their priorities.