January Thaw: Legal Sector Layoffs Lessen, Total Only 1,100 or So
The legal sector continued to lose jobs in January, but at a far lesser rate than the blistering pace of recent months.
It cut some 1,100 positions last month, reports the American Lawyer. But that is far less than the 5,800 legal sector jobs lost in October, 2,900 in November and 2,100 in December, according to seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Helping to bolster last month’s statistics, however, were a number of deferred first-year associates who were told to start work at the beginning of January instead of in the fall, the legal publication notes.
A stunning deluge of BigLaw layoffs in 2009 topped 12,000.
In the legal sector overall there were some 44,700 jobs lost since January of last year, the American Lawyer reports.
Related earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Seyfarth Axes About 40 Attorneys and Staff in Latest Round of Layoffs”
ABAJournal.com: “20 New Staff Layoffs at Wilson Sonsini”
ABAJournal.com: “Winstead Revokes Offer 4 Days Before New Associate Was to Start Work”
