I think WH is right. Plenty of guys (mostly <35 yo RHS) building hours in the Locos with a plan to move to the big middle eastern carriers. More experienced people making the same move tend to be doing it in order to find a more stable employer than their current one (think charter outfits with layoffs over the last few years) and those moving due to actual redundancy.
From what I see the main drivers in the employment market in UK / Northern Europe are the large low cost airlines. Their scale, success and employment practices have altered the jobs market for pilots.
1) They totally dominate the growth in the sector. Where there is growth, there are jobs.
2) Their continued success has two sources: business generated by offering more affordable seats and also pax won over from other carriers who cannot compete on cost. This leads to restructuring/failure of other airlines who end up putting experienced pilots out on the street.
3) The problem really arises with their employment practices for a number of reasons. Also recruitment for the Locos tends to be either DEC or cadet with very little on offer in between. This cadet channel can be very narrow, sometimes only one supplier.
There is no shortage of people to fill the cadet side of the equation. There is not a huge amount of DEC on offer and undoubtedly supply is much tighter but this is of little concern on this forum.
Where are the airline jobs then for newbies?
1) Low cost carriers
2) Other carriers immediate post re-structure (frequently they cut too deep)
3) Smaller operators/regionals who recruit at a lower level in drips and drabs without necessarily putting a big ad in FlightGlobal.
Not mind-blowingly original, I know.