Employment in legal occupations increased in the third quarter despite headwinds caused by the Delta variant. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that third-quarter legal employment (1.9 million) was higher than it was in Q2 (1.76 million), reaching levels not attained since October 2020.
Paralegals experienced a surge in employment in the quarter, increasing overall employment to approximately 458,000—a 15% jump since Q2—surpassing pre-pandemic employment levels for the first time. Lawyer employment, meanwhile, inched up modestly, by 1.5%, to 1.08 million.
At the same time, the unemployment rate among paralegals and lawyers fell to 3.6% (from 5.7%) and 1.2% (from ...
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