No way are people going to carry on training if there are no jobs to go to so I doubt there will be thousands starting their training without the possibility of a job. Back when I did my PPL and ATPL theory in 2002/2003 I was constantly told there would never be any flying jobs ever again and I was wasting my time. On one set of ATPL exams at Silsoe they just had a small classroom with about ten candidates taking exams.
I think that this recession will be deep and it's going to get far worse. If you are a 250hr FATPL right now you're in a spot of bother. That said the most important part of securing a first flying job is timing. You need to train when things look grim so that you're ready to hit the upswing when it happens.