PHILADELPHIA — The so-called “jobless recovery” is partially a misnomer because unemployment has begun to abate – and is likely to continue doing so through 2011 and 2012 – but the Delaware Valley workforce certainly has evolved.

So said participants in a panel discussion Tuesday sponsored by GPSEG, a non-profit professional association of senior-level executives throughout Greater Philadelphia, New Jersey and Delaware committed to the exchange of business contacts and ideas.

“It’s been a tough couple years for everyone,” said Judy Boreham, managing director of Diversified Search Odgers Berndtson. “The phone either rings or it stops ringing. It stopped ringing in 2009.”

Boreham said the phones are starting to ring again.

Sue Mukherjee, director of the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis in Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor & Industry, concurred, noting that there are 182,000 job postings in Pennsylvania – 30,000 more than a month ago. She said unemployment statewide has dropped to 7.8 percent, a significant drop from the 9 percent level not long ago.

That said, Mukherjee issued a caution.

“Recovery, as a word, is very selective,” she said, indicating that many of the jobs are relatively low-level positions in information technology, healthcare and computer-related fields.

Mukherjee was one of three area business executives on a panel Tuesday moderated by KYW Newsradio Special Contributor Larry Kane that discussed the topic “Where are the Jobs Now?” The panelists discussed hiring trends, reviewed the current state of the economy and examined how the business world will seek new employees this year and going into 2012.

More than 125 business leaders and entrepreneurs attended the forum at the Four Seasons Hotel. GPSEG Chairman and CEO Dwayne Patterson said the organization was pleased with the event.

“GPSEG is proud to be able to deliver this very specific market information regarding the economy and employment trends,” he said. “It’s important for our membership to have a strong understanding of the regional economic climate.”

Panelist Tracye McDaniel, president and CEO of Choose New Jersey, a private nonprofit organization with a mission of encouraging and nurturing economic growth in the state, said one battle she faces is “brain drain” – keeping the brightest young talent in the state because education and economic development go hand-in-hand.

“We need to keep them here,” she said.

While the employment picture is brightening, it is far from perfect, especially in the higher job tiers, Boreham said. Many C-level candidates have specific skill sets that don’t translate well into other areas. She said the best preparation for the future is to be globally mobile – half of her company’s placements occur globally -- and also to learn a second language, with Spanish and Chinese high on the list.

McDaniel recommended the hiring of an executive search firm or a headhunter.

“They become your advocate and cast a wide net,” she said.

Job candidate interviews have taken some new turns, including some done remotely on outlets such as Skype.

Boreham said while these kinds of interviews were good for collecting background, they also were dangerous.

“There is no substitute for sitting in front of someone and getting to know them,” she said.

And Mukherjee offered an encouraging piece of news for would-be executive-level hires – while lower-level jobs are in vogue now, projections through 2018 call for an increasing number of higher-level positions.