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After three straight months of stagnant or negative growth, 400 new jobs were added in the legal industry in January according the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite stagnant growth in October and declines in November and December, 2010 saw the legal industry add 1200 new jobs. Overall the economy enjoyed its 4th straight month of job growth and the national unemployment rate fell by .4% to a flat 9%.
Although the number of workers increased overall, the jump was much lower than expected. Part of the marginal growth is attributable to the extreme weather in parts of the country and industries like construction and transportation shed jobs in January. However, even controlling for the weather, the growth in corporate profits continues to outpace the growth in jobs. One possible explanation is the growth in high tech jobs or other careers requiring college degrees. Unemployment for the undereducated remains over 14% while the rate for those with a bachelors degree is only 4.2%. Companies report that it has become difficult to staff many of their open positions due to a lack of qualified applicants.
