From the first post of this thread:

Since when? Bums in seats at the lowest cost - that's all they're interested in.

Accident rate goes up? Pilot error! Naughty pilots. Sack him/her.

Add a couple more hours to the annual CRM bulls**t...oops! sorry, training; that'll cover our @r$es...oops! sorry again, cure the problem.

In the Flat Earth Society view of life, many of the comments on here are correct. Sadly, the real world is round which is not easy for everyone to grasp. I do not believe there will ever, ever be a shortage of newly-qualified, low-houred pilots looking for that first job. What there will be is a shortage of specific pilots with relevant and recent experience on a particular type - i.e. A320 TRIs/TREs, B767 Line Captains, Q400 Line Trainers etc. Right now it is a great time to be an Airbus Captain - in the past it has been 737 Captains.

The other area where shortages can occur in specific airlines are of talented, high quality First Officers who have a bit of experience. What do I mean by 'talented and high quality'? They are the people who pass all their proficiency checks with some ease, are great to work in the same cockpit as, are helpful to their Captain and crew, are always wanting to learn more, do not get involved in unnecessary altercations, become associated with flagrant disregard for the rules of their particular company and are destined to make an easy transition to the left seat when their time comes. Every national carrier is trying to identify these people and grab them from the LCCs where they often dwell - and who can blame them? Sadly, the LCCs rarely see the true value of these people until their resignation is on their manager's desk and it is all too late.

These things come and go and within a couple of months you could find hundreds of unemployed Airbus Captains - such are the ups and downs of a life in aviation. As long as the sun rises in the morning there will, sadly, never be a shortage of aspiring young people wanting that first job. Frankly, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have had the chances I have and feel for the many young pilots who simply do not have the same opportunities.