May 2012

Drat! Just woke up from a month-long map. To think I planned another blog even while I can barely keep this one updated.

Legal employment grew slightly in May, and by about 4,800 year-over-year. Before you get your seat deposit in at Dayton — hurry, dammit! — consider this. I looked back at my May 2011 post and note that May 2010 employment was 1,113,100. So, over two years we're talking about adding 7,000 jobs. I further note that the BLS regularly corrects prior statistics, and that if had used 1,115,100 instead of 1,110,400 when I posted May 2011, it would have shown modest growth over 2010 instead of a contraction. In short, we spent the last two years treading water; this is no recovery.

I have one other correction brewing. Last year I wrote, "Yale or fail." Turns out 2011 was a slaughter. How bad? From the NLJ article:

Several of the country's most prestigious law schools, including the University of Chicago Law School, New York University School of Law, the University of Virginia School of Law and Yale Law School, hired 10 percent or more of their class of 2011.

I suspect 2012 will be no better. Yale AND fail? To be continued …

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t17.htm

Not seasonally adjusted	May	2011	1,111,500
	March	2012	1,110,600
	April	2012	1,114,400
	May	2012	1,116,500	5,000
Seasonally adjusted	May	2011	1,115,100
	March	2012	1,115,800
	April	2012	1,119,300
	May	2012	1,119,900	4,800
Change from Apr-12 to May-12				600