The long anticipated pilot shortage in the USA has finally hit home with airlines offering all sorts of incentives including a $5,000 bonus for referring a pilot who is ultimately hired and a $15,000 bonus to all newly hired pilots

Quoting from the Media:
"US regionals sought to hire 5,000 new pilots in 2015 but actually were able hire fewer than 3,000 because of a considerable decline in the quality of eligible pilot candidates"