Revised outlook for growth in lawyer jobs is glum
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released a glum jobs outlook for lawyers that is less optimistic than its forecast in 2014.
The Bureau estimates the number of lawyer positions will increase by just 43,800 jobs in the period between 2014 and 2024, the Am Law Daily (sub. req.) reports. That estimate, published in December 2015, is down from the forecast in 2014, when the bureau estimated there would be 74,800 new lawyer jobs during that time period.
The new figure doesn’t account for job openings created when lawyers leave the profession, the article says. The bureau predicts 113,900 lawyer positions will turn over this decade. When that number is added to the 43,800 new lawyer positions, there will be an estimated 157,700 new lawyer jobs this decade, an average of 15,770 new lawyer jobs a year.
Even the combined figure is bad news for would-be lawyers. “Things do not look good for law students, even if there are fewer of them,” the article concludes.
