Hoping that things will improve at IBM has become futile.
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It's really a job-seekers market. Personally I had a fruitful eight-year run with IBM but moved onto bigger and better things. Drink the Kool-Aid, be grateful for the skills and experience you acquired with Big Blue and prepare for better opportunities ahead.
In many ways, IBM is just a microcosm of what's happening in the bigger economy. Past generations of employees could depend on guaranteed employment, guaranteed benefits, and loyalty from their employers. In turn those employees would give a lifetime of dedicated service.
All that has changed in recent years. As much as posters here love to knock on IBM (for good reason), you can find the same tales of woe, the same tales of incompetence, and the same tales of betrayal at every other company, both large and small. Apple, Google, Dell, UPS, McDonalds, Ford, your local grocery store...you get the picture. It often goes both ways as well...how many employees jump ship the moment a better offer comes along? It happens all the time.
So yeah, there are lots of jobs. What there isn't, however, is guaranteed employment. All employment these days is temporary...you find a gig, work until the pay stops, then move on to something else. Rinse and repeat. Occasionally you'll find a job with great pay, great benefits, and great longevity. Enjoy it while it lasts, because chances are it won't last long.
And from what I'm hearing, there are many available jobs despite the constant layoffs.