Unemployment has figured prominently in the platforms and debates of many of the political campaigns already, but the real numbers may tell an entirely different story than what has been typically portrayed. And, how to read these unemployment figures may depend on which side of the fence you are looking at them from.

According to some of those political speeches, unemployment is not as huge a problem as it has been in the past few years, a supposed sign that the economy is recovering, but to others, unemployment continues to be one of the most serious issues facing the nation. Some suggest that unemployment checks be minimized, keeping people from "living" on long term checks while others are saying that they are needed especially in certain industries.

Manpower Group, a national staffing firm, surveys employers from all over the country, in various industries to discuss the problems they were facing with finding employees as well as other questions. According to that study, more than half of all employers are having serious issues for their open positions, not only because they are not getting applicants but because they are not getting quality applicants for positions that are not considered to be entry level. That problem is larger in certain industries, particularly those that need more specialized training or more skill sets.

A lack of qualified applicants is not the only problem, however. Employers are also trying to play it from both sides of the fence as well. They want quality applicants, those with the highest level of education and the right kind of skills but they do not want to pay decent salaries or benefits to actually lure them. In most cases, the employers do not want to bother hiring someone that is close to perfect and then spend the time and money to finish their training. For their part, most employees are reluctant to start expanding their job searches outside of their established industry or out of their current location. The housing market is keeping many potential employees in locations where their industries are all but dead.

Also according to the survey, recruiting intensity, described as how hard an employer is willing to push to get the attention of an applicant, has decreased dramatically in the last three to four years.

One of the hardest hit areas has been in the construction field- as projects are completed or stopped because of budgeting, the employees are laid off. Most of those are older males without additional training or young males just starting to earn a work history. Neither group is determined to be desirable in a new job situation.