Agree with kneetrembler.
I have been a professional pilot, on and off, for (holy ****!) 38 years, and have had a number of extended periods when I didn't fly at all. More than a couple of years on 2 occasions.
Though I never felt particularly confident when resuming flying, in fact it has never been much of a problem. Skills were not forgotten. Procedures, however are a different matter. But since they are frequently different from one job/country to another you usually have to learn new ones anyway.
Don't worry too much about being rusty, it is not that big a deal. Good luck with getting re-employed. (The best way, in my experience, is - be prepared to move to a new place, and do not disdain the less fashionable flying jobs. They can all be good fun, after all, and sometimes, are even well paid!)
Last edited by Lord Lucan; 26th Oct 2009 at 08:49.