Despite the high unemployment numbers, many employers say they struggle finding talent to fill open positions; however, these employers often overlook the long-term unemployed, says Ravin Jesuthasan, global head of talent management at Towers Watson, a global professional services company in New York City.

There's a belief in the job market that those who are still unemployed were let go because of performance issues, but that often isn't true. The latest economic downturn forced many employers to completely restructure their staffs, and workers on all levels were impacted.

"There is still a belief that this is still a buyers' market, so many employers think they have their pick of the talent they want and are going to absolutely wait until they find the best person," Jesuthasan says. "A lot of outstanding talent was let go during the height of the recession, and they have not been able to get a fair shot because of much of the discrimination that's going on against unemployed talent versus those who are still employed. People falsely believe those who are still employed are high performers, but that isn't necessarily the case."