With economists saying the outlook for the nation's battered labor market is not positive, many in the city's workforce say they are on edge.
"I know a lot of folks who are looking, and a lot of folks who are good at what they do and are out of a job and have very little prospect of finding one in the short term," said one New Yorker. "So it is disconcerting."
The most recent Department of Labor reading showed a net loss of jobs in June, bringing first-half job losses to 438,000. The national unemployment rate remained at 5.5 percent, and things in the city are barely any brighter.
"In the city, the employment rate is about 5.2 percent, which is a little lower than the national average," said Christopher Jones of the Regional Plan Association. "That translates to about 200,000 people, but that's really not the whole story, because the numbers are just catching up to what is happening on the ground."
The unemployment figures released in June show that unemployment continues to rise, especially in the area of finance. Lindley Pless filed the following Money Matters report on what employees can expect in the future and what they can do to hold onto their jobs.
Experts say that it's down on Wall Street where the most job losses can be seen. They say they expect those numbers to continue to rise and to trickle down and hit other sectors.
"It is becoming a broad-based national downturn, certainly concentrated in the financial services sector, but that has such an impact on everything from restaurants to accounting to air travel at the airports," said Jones. "The construction industry is also being hard it, so I don't think anything is totally immune."
Sarah Needleman who writes about workplace trends for the Wall Street Journal says now is the time to try and protect your job if you still have it.
"Anything you can do to help in terms of increasing sales, retaining customers, adding new customers, is really going to help," she said. "You also have to bear in mind that there may have been layoffs already and certain tasks need to get done and are possibly getting ignored. If you raise your hand and say, 'I'd like to help out,' that is really going to be recognized by your employer."
And if you see your company beginning to downsize, start networking and getting that resume ready, because the professionals say there are still areas that are hiring like education, government agencies, and the healthcare sector.
If you are laid off, don't be afraid to ask your employer for help on the way out.
"You want to do what you can to get the most out of your employer, in terms of severance pay and out-placement services," advised Needleman. "They may refer you to an organization that can help you find your next job."