Have All Forecasted Lawyer Jobs for the Rest of This Decade Been Filled Already?

A snip from Elizabeth Lesly Stevens' Washington Post story:

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 73,600 new lawyer jobs from 2010 to 2020. But just three years into that decade, about 132,757 new lawyers have hit the job market.

While not every new JD seeks employment as a lawyer, it is safe to say that planning to work as an attorney is not rare among law students. But perhaps it should be. Data from the National Association of Legal Career Professionals indicate that since 2010, about 75,000 new law grads have found full-time jobs as lawyers.

So, in theory, all of the BLS-forecasted job openings through 2020 have already been filled, and 59,157 new lawyers are still looking for “real” law jobs.

For much more, see Will law school students have jobs after they graduate? ATL's Elie Mystal writes "Now we can add this Washington Post article to the tome of 'information readily available for those who bother to look'" in Washington Post Hops On The ‘Do Law Students Know How Stupid They Are’ Bandwagon.

Elizabeth Lesly Stevens was the featured guest in the Nov. 5, 2012 episode of NPR's TELL ME MORE. [JH]