New jobs are revitalizing the U.S. economy and the legal sector, while the threat of a recent spike of COVID-19 infections across the country lingers; specifically in the South. This increase may threaten the progress already made to many local economies.
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The legal sector, inclusive of attorneys, legal secretaries, paralegals, and others who make their living in the law, added 7,500 jobs in June, up from about 3,200 new jobs in May after losses of over 60,000 for the month of April.
Total employment in the legal vertical statistically rates at 1,106,800, growing from 1,099,300 in May, but down from 1,148,600 compared to June 2019, according to BLS (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).
A survey by BLS is conducted every mid-month, reflecting that the increase of Coronavirus cases in mid-June did not reflect current numbers.
More recent statistics show that over 1.4 million Americans again filed for unemployment in just the last week. Over 800,000 filed for new benefits from ‘The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program’.
The North has effectively been lowering infection rates, with many heavily populated states taking less precaution. States that opened their economies quickly are noticing the effects of their decisions.
Florida, California, and Texas, the most populated states, are seeing surges of the virus, possibly stalling economic recovery in the coming weeks and/or months. In professional and business services, under the same category which the ‘legal profession’ falls, 306,00 new jobs were added in June, but still 1.8 million below February’s numbers.
The Labor force participation is currently at 61.5%, 1.9% lower than in February. The hospitality industry grew by 2.1 million jobs, accounting for about two-fifths of total gains.
Resource: https://www.law.com/americanlawyer/2020/07/02/june-jobs-report-legal-adds-7500-jobs-but-murky-future-awaits/
