By YOUNG MONEY Staff
30 July 2010

The federal government recently released the figures for economic growth in the second quarter, and they weren't very cheerful. Gross domestic product - one measure of the total output of an economy - rose at annual rate of 2.4 percent in the last three months.

The economy is growing, then - but slower than it has been. In the first three months of 2010, GDP grew at an annual rate of 3.7 percent, while the fourth quarter of 2009's rate was fully 5 percent.

A slowing recovery could be bad news for both stock markets and those looking for work. Generally speaking, corporate profits have been very good. If you're searching for a job, business-to-business companies might be a good place to look, as firms start to expand inventories and invest in capital goods.

Equipment and software spending was up 22 percent in the second quarter.

Unemployment remains stubbornly high, though. That's dragged down consumer spending, which is rising at only a 1.6-percent pace. The U.S. economy is still incredibly consumer-driven, so unless people start getting jobs and spending money, the recovery is going to stay weak.

Finance, IT and renewable energy all look like good sectors for the jobseeker right now, as those companies are doing well. Retail, real estate and automotive jobs, on the other hand, appear shaky.