Career & Practice
Job growth in legal industry slows for first time since 2024
The legal industry’s year-and-a-half streak of employment gains came to an end in March, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Image from Shutterstock)
The legal industry’s year-and-a-half streak of employment gains came to an end in March, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The data, which was released Friday and reported by Law360, shows that 700 fewer people were employed in lawyer, paralegal and other law-related professional roles last month than in February. As of March, 1,233,100 people were working in the legal industry.
John Cashman, the president of legal recruiting company Major, Lindsey & Africa, told Law360 that he has seen “a slight easing” of growth in the past six weeks. He attributed this to “economic uncertainty caused by a combination of things that are all landing at once—private credit concerns, Iran and the lack of an interest rate cut.”
He also told Law360 that he isn’t concerned because legal demand, particularly at the general counsel level, remains strong.
Michelle Fivel, a founding partner of recruiting company Hatch Henderson Fivel, echoed this sentiment, telling Law360 that she has seen increasing demand in several areas, including real estate, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets.
“Interest in partners with portable practices remains incredibly high in practice areas across the board,” Fivel also told Law360.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, February had been the 18th straight month of job growth in the U.S. legal sector, Law360 reports.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
