The 1200 figure you quote is for UK CAA issued JAA licences. To get a better flavour for the amount of competition out there you need to factor in all the wannabes from the rest of the EU that are interested in heading to the UK for work. Then add in all of those from previous years still in the mix trying for the first job. And as pointed out above add into the equation those furloughed with a type rating and desperate for work and it gets a big number. Oh and if you really want to be depressed then think of all those lucky people that are married to an EU citizen or have ancestry rights and are getting laid off all across the world and could possibly be heading your way.