Unemployment vs. non-farm job creationSource: BLS Data

June's jobs report indicated a return to consistency for the unemployment rate as it remained steady at 5.5%. These results reflect that, while employers continue to be cautious, they're still hiring as needed and are resisting widespread cuts to their workforce. Further reinforcing this dynamic was the jobless claims report for the week of July 5 which was much better than economist expectations with 346,000 new unemployment claims – far below the 400,000 expected and the biggest month-over-month drop in 2.5 years.

Despite recent hits to our economy coming in the form of rising gas and food prices as well as the mortgage and credit crises, job losses have month-over-month remained below the 100,000 mark (-62,000 in non-farm payroll employment in June) and employment is close to 95% for the country – much better facts and figures than have been seen during past economic recessions and by our global neighbors. For example, job losses peaked at around 300,000 per month during the 2001 recession and, right now, several other developed economies are experiencing unemployment in the 7-9% range.

When we take a closer look at the jobs situation here in the U.S., we see a tale of two labor markets. How you're impacted is largely based on where you live and what you do. For instance, if you're a teenager looking for a summer job, you're facing an 18% unemployment market versus a far more encouraging 2.3% unemployment for college graduates. If you're in healthcare, your industry added 13,000 jobs in June, but if you're in construction, the industry lost 43,000 jobs.