USA Law Employment Data (NALP): The Job Market Stinks!

[WSJ Law Blog]

The National Association for Law Placement today released data showing it is the worst job market for lawyers since the mid-1990s.



It’s tough to be a law school grad these days.

We knew that, but today we have some cold hard facts to back up just how hard it is to find a good law job. The National Association for Law Placement released employment data for 2009 grads from ABA-accredited law schools.

Here’s the top line number: 88% of the grads are employed. That doesn’t seem so bad at first blush, but it’s the lowest employment rate since the mid-1990s. And the numbers get uglier once you unpack them, according to NALP. Nearly 25% of all the jobs reported were temporary. Also, a full 2% of the jobs reported were fellowships, grant programs and other opportunities provided by the graduates’ law schools.

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Every third year student knows that at this point--even if you did get lucky.