Legal Industry is Currently the Toughest Career Segment for New Job Seekers

Finding a job in this economy is not for the faint hearted.  It's a tough proposition all around, but some fields are having a more difficult time than others.  According to the Wall Street Journal the legal field is currently the hardest-to-place industry, with only one available job opening for every 100 working attorneys.  The job site SimplyHired.com  reports a 1.9% decrease in job listings for lawyers and legal professionals in August.  For comparison, SimplyHired's news release indicates that there are 64 open jobs in the field of occupational therapy for every 100 individuals working in that field.  An aging population and longer life expectancies is boosting the need for physical, occupational and speech therapy positions. 

Software engineering is another promising career field, the journal reports a mini boom in the tech job arena.  These targeted areas of growth are not an indication of a recovering economy the Journal reports.  Bureau of Labor statistics show non-farm jobs at a virtual standstill in August as the unemployment rate failed to budge below 9.1%.  Legal industry hiring has had major ups and downs in the last 12 months, the net result, only 100 jobs added since August 2010.  A promising burst of 4,100 new legal industry jobs in July was preceded by a 3,800 position drop in June, according to the Am Law Daily.

Sources:

Am Law Daily

Bureau of Labor Statistics

SimplyHired.com

Wall Street Journal