Of the nearly 800 job categories listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 48 occupations require at least 2,100 hours annually - roughly 100 more than the national average. Most of these positions also are paid very well, averaging more than $80,000 per year.

Between November 2010 and October 2011, the biggest cities in the country by population added 443,446 jobs. Unemployment in these 250 cities dropped by 7 percent, on average, during the period. Of course, some cities are faring much better than others.

Eleven American companies have laid off a total of nearly 600,000 people in the past two decades. Each also fired a large number of employees at one time to earn it a place among the largest corporate layoffs in modern American history.

According to information 24/7 Wall St. has reviewed, large layoffs are almost exclusively the result of two conditions. They happen in industries near the end of their most successful periods, or because of difficult economic conditions.

The supercommittee was responsible for extending the unemployment benefits. The group was supposed to reach a federal debt-reduction agreement that would have included an extension of the federal unemployment insurance for people who have run out of state-level benefits. Since the supercommittee failed to reach an agreement, the federal programs will expire on December 31 unless Congressional lawmakers renew it.

Since textile workers in England were replaced by mechanized looms in the 19th century new technologies have been continuously taking the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of laborers. In the 20th century -- the age of machinery, robotics, and computers -- the United States has seen the loss of millions of factory jobs. Now, in the era of the Internet and further automation, a new generation of full-time workers is on the verge of losing their positions to technology. 24/7 Wall Street used information provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics to identify the jobs that will lose the largest percentage of their current positions over the next decade.

When a recession is as deep as the current one, people may have to look far and wide for job opportunities. The most obvious places to find jobs are in large cities, where the numbers of openings are likely to be highest. However, there are great job opportunities in some of America's smallest cities, too.

According to a 24/7 Wall St. analysis, employment has increased significantly in a number of smaller U.S. cities in the last ten years. We have identified nine cities where the populations may be small, but the economies are robust, job opportunities are good and unemployment rates are much lower than the national average.

The national unemployment rate has remained stubbornly high -- above 9% since May 2009. While some companies are hiring, many continue to lay off workers, causing an overwhelming sense of job insecurity. However, certain workers may have less to worry about than others. That's because they are in professions Americans can't live without. 24/7 Wall St. has identified those crucial jobs.

Some companies become so badly damaged because of changes in the competitive markets or due to poor management decisions that their employees lose hope. This may result from the belief that the corporations they work for have little future, or that they will be laid off as their employers try to save these corporations.

The day that many feared for Apple Inc. has arrived. Steve Jobs is formally leaving Apple as CEO. He has requested to still serve as Chairman of the Board, director, and employee. His letter is below:

There are over 7.5 million households in the U.S. in which the residents do not own an automobile. Of course, these homes rely on public transportation to commute to work, schools and shopping. Yet, 700,000 of those households don't even have access to public transit, according to the Brookings Institution. And for those with access, just over 40 percent of jobs in their metropolitan areas are accessible within 90 minutes. In some areas, it is much worse. 24/7 Wall St. identified the 10 metropolitan areas with the lowest rates of job access, as outlined in the Brookings report.