"It's always important, particularly for young people, to know there are jobs out there, but it really depends on where you look," explains Dr. Walden, a professor of agricultural and resource education.

"If you are looking in the professional area or business jobs, you should have a smile on your face because those jobs have been increasing at about a 7 percent clip on an annual basis. That's good.

"If you are going into the construction industry -– and not necessarily to actually do the work but managing or buying and selling of construction materials, jobs there have been increasing at about a 6 percent clip," he adds. "And then jobs in the health and education sectors -– and, of course, we know we are very big on health care here in North Carolina -- they have been going up at about a 5 percent clip.

"The one sector where you want to perhaps think twice about whether you want to go into that sector is manufacturing," he adds. "Manufacturing lost 3 percent of its jobs last year, and of course it's way down over the last 10 to 15 years. However, one glimmer of hope there is that most of these cuts are in jobs on the assembly line. Manufacturing companies are still looking for talented people in management and finance."