Post-Labor Day Report Reveals More Labor for Lawyers

I hope all of you had a fine long weekend. I also hope at least some of you have some skills at building infrastructure.

But maybe you have some legal skills. If you do, the market for your talents is ever-so-slightly recovering. The latest jobs report shows that the American economy stinks as a whole, but less so for lawyers. Am Law Daily reports:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report for August was released early Friday and the news was still a bit glum overall — the U.S. economy lost a total of 54,000 jobs. But the news for lawyers and legal industry employees was a bit brighter.

The legal sector handed out 1,000 jobs last month, marking the second straight month of improved numbers for the industry.

Yay! Let’s welcome these new people to the party…

Adding 1,000 new jobs is good news. But the legal job market is still significantly contracted from last year:

The BLS originally reported that the field lost 800 jobs in July, but that number has since been readjusted to show an increase of 300 positions. While those numbers lag behind reports from August 2009 by more than 14,000 jobs, they still represent an improvement over the previous two months.

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The numbers should tell you that the “lost generation” remains in the wilderness. Some people who were kicked off the legal bandwagon during the recession are just never going to get back on.

But still, 1,000 more jobs is 1,000 more jobs. That’s a good thing. And a wonderful way to kick off the last quarter of 2010.

Legal Sector Gained 1,000 Jobs in August [Am Law Daily]

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