Despite the "down turn" the FAA is still forecasting by 2025 that air traffic will double.
NextGen Implementation Plan
I suppose it would be safe to say that by 2025 that the FAA is forecasting a need to double the pilots?? I'll take all that with a grain of salt. However, there has been a very steady increase in air traffic and it hasn't stalled.
What this means for the state of this profession is still hard to determine. In my opinion, the only thing that will turn the state of this profession toward our favor is simply less people doing it. Supply and demand. The demand for air travel will increase. A lack of supply would help to turn pay and QoL higher.
Even with that said, something very fundamental will have to change with flight training to meet the demand that the FAA implies will be needed by 2025. The current system relies less on military pilots and more on civilian trained pilots. These students are investing way too much money into a profession that currently promises much less in return. The price is increasing while the expected return is decreasing. Maybe the entire industry will create a system of more streamlined training where the companies that need pilots train them from zero to minimum needed? I don't know. But it certainly seems like there is going to be a supply problem to meet the demand. The best you can do to help turn this industry around is to get out.