Hiring is slowly picking back up, but it's not all roses just yet.

The number of long term unemployed for 6 months or more now sits at 4 million. That's down from what it was 3 years ago, when it was nearly 7 million.

Additionally, The Wall Street Journal  reports that if you do lose a job, the odds favor a quick rebound. We're talking weeks rather than years.

Yet the reality is many people find work that pays from moderately to substantially less than what they were earning prior.

And get ready to work in the service sector if you don't have a college degree. That's the latest word from a recent forecast on job growth in one state.

In prior eras, the fields of construction, manufacturing, and government work typically allowed people to earn a good wage with just a high school diploma or a little bit of trade school.

But today, a recent look ahead at jobs in Florida shows a different trend.

Looking forward through  2020, the fields of growth for those without a college degree will involve retail sales, food preparation, waiters and waitresses, customer service, office clerks, landscapers, cashiers, nursing aides, and receptionists.

Meanwhile, there's a compensation gap intensifying for those jobs that require college versus those that don't.

In Florida, the average pay of someone with a high school degree is $28,000. Yet an associate's degree nets $63,000, while a bachelor's brings in $69,000. A master's degree earns you $103,000. (These are averages for those with experience over time.)

The fastest growing fields for those with a bachelor's degree include accountants and auditors, elementary school teachers, and management analysts.

For those with a master's degree, the fastest-growing fields include public health workers, occupational therapists, physical therapists, mental health counselors, teachers with health specialties, art and music teachers, and architects.

I do want to emphasize that I'm not dissing on those without college degrees. Some of most successful entrepreneurs were not classroom types and they make the most money of everyone.