I think part of the problem is that job security is still drilled into everyone's heads: older, educated European parents are quasi-unfireable at this point (having been hired on old-style contracts with ridiculously favourable terms), and even young teachers are typically state employees with exceptionally high job security and exceptionally low competition - my sister is studying to be a teacher in Austria, and she already knows what her salary will be when she starts work in 3 years' time. And these are the only adults with whom young people spend any significant amount of time.
Meanwhile, in industry, there are jobs available, but often not as actual employees. Companies will bend over backwards to hire young people on a "permanently temporary" basis, i.e. perpetual, full-time, single-client freelancers. Legally, this tends to be a very grey area, but if you complain they'll obviously just not renew your contract. So nobody does.
The decrease in job security is probably also contributing to the "brain drain": if salaries are higher elsewhere, and there's no longer a security advantage to staying at home, then why not move?
> even young teachers are typically state employees with exceptionally high job security and exceptionally low competition
This is definitely no longer true in Austria. For the first couple of years of their career, young teachers are usually hired on a contract basis. If they are not needed the following year, their contract is simply not renewed.
Together with the infamously bad ability by Austrian schools and school administration to estimate demand for the following years, I've heard horror stories of teacher who didn't know at the end of August whether or not they will have a job in September.
That said, at the moment there seems to be a shortage of teachers, caused by the attempts of the last decade or so to steer people away from becoming teachers (because we have too many ...). So with a decent choice of subjects it shouldn't be too hard to find a job.
Meanwhile, in industry, there are jobs available, but often not as actual employees. Companies will bend over backwards to hire young people on a "permanently temporary" basis, i.e. perpetual, full-time, single-client freelancers. Legally, this tends to be a very grey area, but if you complain they'll obviously just not renew your contract. So nobody does.
The decrease in job security is probably also contributing to the "brain drain": if salaries are higher elsewhere, and there's no longer a security advantage to staying at home, then why not move?