As May Job Growth Lags Estimates, Legal Sees an Uptick
The legal industry added roughly 2,000 jobs in May as overall job growth came in below expectations.
June 07, 2019 at 12:27 PM
2 minute read
Photo: fizkes/Shutterstock.com
While it was expected to add 175,000 jobs in May, the U.S. labor force was only able to muster less than half of that. But the legal industry, did see improvement from a disappointing March and April.
The U.S. economy added roughly 75,000 jobs in May, a sharp contrast to the previous several months in which the country averaged 164,000 non-farm jobs gained.
While not an imposing gain for the legal sector, which includes attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries and other professional legal roles, a month-over-month increase of 2,000 jobs in May shows a change in direction from April, when the legal industry experienced a net loss of 1,800 jobs.
The 1,143,000 current total jobs in the legal sector represent a 3,000 job increase from the same period in 2018. The industry as a whole has hovered around the 1.14 million mark since December of 2016, with slight movement each month, but no significant change in either direction.
The overall economy, which grew at a 3.1% clip over the first quarter of the year, is expected to slow in the second quarter, according to analysts. And although the U.S. has been adding jobs each month, it is behind the 2018 pace of 228,000 jobs added per month on average. Analysts have said the 2018 tax breaks provided a short-term bump that hasn't resulted in long-term gains.
Analysts told The New York Times that the latest report adds uncertainty about the U.S. economy, along with concerns about the current administration's ongoing trade war with China and another potential trade war with Mexico. Hiring in goods-producing industries like manufacturing, mining and logging and construction was almost nonexistent in May.
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Legal Industry Is Left Out as Economists Cheer US Jobs Growth
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