Summary: Although 100 is a small number, the addition of jobs is a good sign for the legal sector which has been struggling since the recession.
May was a positive month for the U.S. legal sector although perhaps not quite as successful as one would hope. A total of 100 jobs were added during the month, according to preliminary monthly employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This number may change at a later time.
The legal workforce total number of jobs stands at 1,123,500, up from 1,123,400 jobs in April. The peak since the recession was in 2013 with 1,132,800 jobs. A total of 38,000 jobs were added in May, much less than predicted. It is estimated that around 160,000 jobs were added in April. The unemployment rate fell from 5 to 4.7 percent. Fortunately for the legal sector, May is a positive addition of jobs compared to April’s loss of 1,500.
See Legal Industry Jobs Grow in December.
The professional and health care sectors gained 46,000 jobs. The information sector dropped by 35,000, greatly due to the Verizon workers, approximately 34,000, on strike that are considered unemployed. The mining sector lost 10,000 jobs.
Do you think the addition of jobs last month is a sign that the legal sector is growing? Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about last year’s employment numbers, read Legal Sector Adds 2,300 Jobs in April.
Photo: americanlawyer.com