Could you please describe why? jQuery is basically just a bunch of helper functions which makes your JS code a bit more readable and takes away the worry about browser (in)compatibility. Is that bad?

No. It's not bad. As with everything in tech, there are:

1) tradeoffs, preferences, exigencies of use-case

2) devs who conflate their specific use-cases with universal truths

3) fickle winds of fashion affects tech as much as any human endeavor. Right now jQuery is out and React is in

As for jQuery specifically, there has been at least 2 trends militating against it: a wider industry move away from patterns of direct DOM manipulation into virtual DOMs (i.e. using frontend frameworks); and a more widespread acceptance of functional programming techniques while jQuery is inherently "impure"

>"As for jQuery specifically, there has been at least 2 trends militating against it"

Using virtual DOM does not give much benefit if at all on modern browsers.

Functional programming is just one of many existing paradigms and not a silver bullet. One does not need to plug every hole with it.

Of course!

I would note in passing that a description of industry trends is not an endorsement of them. There are lots of reasons for trends beyond pure rational technical strategy.

So far I was fortunate that in most cases I am free to choose the tech stack for the products I make. I pay very little attention to "industry trends" (basically what FAANG tells us to do) and choose what works best for my business ROI wise.

As for developer pool - when I need to hire subcontractor I've never had problems finding one with enough qualifications in whatever area I would need. Btw all subcontractors I've ever had are remote since year 2000