A great question, Brian. I will try to keep my thoughts as short as possible by discussing market characteristics and trends for the forseeable future. I will attempt to not answer the larger systematic problems in the academic job search (which frankly, keep it from operating efficiently, or even at all)
First, the elephant in the room. There are too many PhDs applying for too few jobs. It is a simple fact in nearly every single discipline, with exceptions in certain sub disciplines. This will not change, at least until the recession is "over," so we'll just have to accept it as a constant here.
That fact's greatest consequence, however, comes in how cheap new professors have become. The supply of labor is simply too large. This does not mean you should not do it, but it does mean the battle is uphill.
On one hand, most starting professor salaries are essentially set by contracts with faculty groups or deans. They may not be great, but they are generally competitive to attract good candidates, and ensure a good pay for more senior faculty. On the other hand, adjunct pay is notoriously low, a fact that has increasingly dawned on administrators, especially since they can now get adjunct professors, who for all intents and purposes are worthy substitutes to much more expensive full-time faculty or even moderately priced lecturers.
The other main difference that job-seekers will find is that their competition will change. Anecdotally, since I'm not enough of a scientist to run any numbers, in the past there would be some movement in jobs at the top (through newly endowed chairs, retirements, etc.), which would hire from below, opening up mid-level jobs, which younger employed professors would take.
What is happening now is that those jobs at the top are not becoming available as quickly or as often. Academics are not retiring because of the hit they took in their investment portfolios, clogging up the upwardly mobile "middle class" professors (solid scholars newly-ish tenured at mid-level universities). This means that more people are willing to take sideways moves. Instead of competing against other freshly-minted PhDs and adjuncts, you are competing against them AND established academics looking for a change of scenery or a chance to move up elsewhere. This does not necessarily give them a leg up (and I know of a few job searches where these people were perceived negatively), but it makes the pool that much larger.
Therefore, for a while at least, your competition will not just be fellow ne'er do well ABDs. You will be competing with more experienced people, and with administrators who are trying to fill spots that require fewer resources and produce strikingly similar results.
I expect to see a growth in mid-range lecturers. Generally more respected than an adjunct, can be leaned on for some department duties, but prey to yearly budget considerations and a negligible difference from a professor in the eyes of students. If you can secure one of these in a place you are comfortable in, go for it.
I think having geographical flexibility will be key, as it always has been, just probably for longer in your career. I once had a professor who told me that you should expect to go on the job market 3 straight times when you start out. Don't get discouraged.
P.S.- Here is another point of discouragement! According to census data, and national college student aid groups, the number of people attending college in the US is expected to peak (permanently) in about 4-6 years and begin to taper off. Get those jobs quick before colleges can no longer rely on student body growth to fund faculty lines!
