The facts show that when people in industries like car manufacturing lose their jobs, they find others.
In many cases - better paying and more sustainable ones.
Same with airlines.
Well not really. Problem especially for pilots is that the industry is very expensive and difficult to get into and your qualifications are worthless outside of it. CASA are even doing their best to destroy the ratings you already hold. Same for LAMEs.
If you don't go overseas you basically have to retrain in a new industry. Given that it takes around 10 years to get into a decent paying jet job we aren't talking about people in their 20's who can just pack up and move the other side of the country. You can't just go back to uni full time and train in a 'proper' education in your 40's with wife and kids hanging on. And even if you do by then you will have a degree and spent 4 years out of the workforce and are now competing for entry level jobs against 22 year olds.
Whilst all that can be done I wouldn't say that a pilot could be retrenched and 'easily move to another industry'. You would have to sell your house, move your family and spend your savings and house capital on a degree in a new venture. And then start again in a new industry and hope the bottom doesn't fall out of that one!
Just think of the economic multiplier that will provide for everyone in the economy.
History has shown that these economic multiplier forecast figures are usually greatly inflated or just a plain load of horse manure. Some simple maths will show how widely exaggerated they usually are. I often do it with the Boeing figures for aviation and just laugh when I realise what they are talking about. It's just a way of generating a easy headline to promote your cause at the time.