I'm not quite sure that they prefer low timers. The fact is, applicants with a few hundred more hours are making the jump to the regionals, so they are basically taking what they can get and have accepted the fact that they are a stepping stone. If anything I think they would "prefer" high timers so they can hire them directly to the left seat, since we are short on captains more than FO's right now.
As for the training contract...that's a negative.