The economy is picking up, however from a very low level so it will take until 2011 or 2012 until we reach 2007 levels again if no major economical mishap happens once again. Of course some countries in the EU are worse off than others and some were hit a lot harder than others too. Unemployment was not in step with the financial crisis everywhere, for example unemployment rates did'nt change much at all in germany despite a total downturn of around 5% compared to 2008, they will rise now that we are expecting a growth between 1,5 and 2.5% in 2010 simply because state help is running out.
The airline i'm working for is expecting a growth of around 5% this year, however it is not yet clear which of the 5 different airlines flying under that brand will grow fastest, at the moment it looks like the swiss and austrian parts will, but that might change, however hiring has recommenced on a low level but
afaik all spots are allready taken with an overabundance of very experienced crews on the market.