Layoffs
21,000 Legal Jobs Lost in Last Year
The legal industry lost 4,200 jobs in February—the biggest monthly decline since the Wall Street meltdown of last fall, according to government figures released today (PDF). Legal employment, which includes nonlawyers who work in the legal services industry, declined from 1,154,400 in January to 1,150,200 in February.
Legal services nationwide have contracted by 21,000 jobs in the last 12 months, a drop of 1.8 percent, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The loss comes as the national unemployment rate reached 8.1 percent, the highest in 26 years, according to the New York Times.
Prior coverage at ABAJournal.com:
Legal Jobs Now Stand at Same Level as March 2004
