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Explore Legal Occupations

Summary
Occupations
Employment Information
Salary Information
Projections
Industries
Local Information
- States
- Metro Areas
Further Information

Snapshot of Legal Occupations in 2010

992,650

Total Employment

2.70 %

Unemployment Rate

$96,940

Average Annual Salary

#2 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by lowest annual unemployment rate.
#2 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by average annual wages.
#8 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by future employment growth.
#8 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by total employment growth from the previous year.
#10 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by percentage of women employed.
#17 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by average annual wages growth from the previous year.
#21 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by future job openings.
#21 amongst U.S. occupational groups ranked by total employment.

Legal Occupations

VIEW ALL LEGAL OCCUPATIONS HERE

HIGHEST PAYING OCCUPATIONS

1. Lawyers: $129,440

2. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates: $105,390

3. Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers: $89,740

4. Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators: $66,460

5. Legal Support Workers, All Other: $59,310

Table 1. Highest Paying Legal Occupations

FASTEST GROWING SALARIES

1. Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators: 0.05 %

2. Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers: 0.02 %

3. Court Reporters: 0.02 %

4. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates: 0.01 %

5. Legal Support Workers, All Other: 0.01 %

Table 2. Legal Occupations with the Fastest Growing Salaries

POPULAR OCCUPATIONS

1. Lawyers: 56.55 %

2. Paralegals and Legal Assistants*: 24.98 %

3. Title Examiners, Abstractors, and Searchers: 5.09 %

4. Legal Support Workers, All Other: 4.25 %

5. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates: 2.61 %

Table 3. Popular Legal Occupations
(Percentage of Total Employment for Occupational Group)

FASTEST GROWING EMPLOYMENT

1. Administrative Law Judges, Adjudicators, and Hearing Officers: 0.09 %

2. Legal Support Workers, All Other: 0.06 %

3. Lawyers: 0.01 %

4. Paralegals and Legal Assistants*: 0.00 %

5. Judges, Magistrate Judges, and Magistrates: -0.02 %

Table 4. Legal Occupations with the Fastest Growing Employment

Employment Information for Legal Occupations

Total Employment for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 1. Total Employment

Total Employment by Gender for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 2. Employment by Gender

Employment Percent Change for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 3. Employment Percent Change

Unemployment Rate for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 4. Unemployment Rate

Figure 5. Diversity of Employment

Legal Occupations

National Estimates

Total Employment

992,650

127,097,160

Total Employment Amount Change from 2009 to 2010

-6,370

-3,550,450

Total Employment Percent Change from 2009 to 2010

-0.01 %

-0.03 %

Percent of Women Employed

48.80 %

47.20 %

Percent of Men Employed

51.20 %

52.80 %

Unemployment Rate

2.70 %

9.60 %

Unemployment Rate Amongst Women

3.60 %

8.60 %

Unemployment Rate Amongst Men

1.90 %

10.50 %

Table 5. Employment Information for Legal Occupations

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Salary Information for Legal Occupations

Annual Salary Distribution for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 6. Annual Salary Distribution

Hourly Wage Distribution for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 7. Hourly Wage Distribution

Average Annual Salary for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 8. Average Annual Salary

Average Hourly Wage for Legal Occupations in 2010

Figure 9. Average Hourly Wage

Figure 10. Average Annual Wage Percent Change

Legal Occupations

National Estimates

Average Annual Salary

$96,940

$44,410

Average Hourly Wage

$46.6

$21.35

Average Annual Salary Change from 2009 to 2010

0.01 %

0.02 %

Table 6. Salary Information for Legal Occupations

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Projections for Legal Occupations

Projected Employment Growth for Legal Occupations (2008-2018)

Figure 11. Projected Employment Growth (2008-2018)

Replacement Needs Rate for Legal Occupations (2008-2018)

Figure 12. Projected Replacement Needs^{( 1 )} Rate (2008-2018)

Projected Job Openings for Legal Occupations (2008-2018)

Figure 13. Contributions of Employment Growth and Replacement Needs¹ to Projected Job Openings, estimated to be 397,100 by 2018.

LARGEST EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

1. Lawyers: 98,500

2. Paralegals and legal assistants: 74,100

3. Miscellaneous legal support workers: 14,000

4. Legal support workers, all other: 5,300

5. Law clerks: 5,200

Table 7. Occupations with the Largest Projected Employment Growth (2008 - 2018)

FASTEST GROWING OCCUPATIONS

1. Paralegals and legal assistants: 28.08%

2. Court reporters: 18.26%

3. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators: 13.95%

4. Law clerks: 13.87%

5. Lawyers: 12.98%

Table 8. Occupations with the Fastest Growing Employment Rates (2008 - 2018)

SMALLEST EMPLOYMENT GROWTH

1. Judges, magistrate judges, and magistrates: -700

2. Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers: -500

3. Administrative law judges, adjudicators, and hearing officers: 1,200

4. Arbitrators, mediators, and conciliators: 1,400

5. Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers: 1,800

Table 9. Occupations with the Smallest Projected Employment Growth or Largest Projected Employment Decline (2008 - 2018)

LARGEST NUMBER OF JOB OPENINGS

1. Lawyers: 240,400

2. Paralegals and legal assistants: 104,000

3. Miscellaneous legal support workers: 40,600

4. Legal support workers, all other: 12,400

5. Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers: 12,100

Table 10. Occupations with the Largest Number of Job Openings due to Employment Growth and Replacement Needs (2008 - 2018)

1. Replacement needs are an estimate of job openings resulting from workers retiring from or permanently leaving an occupation.

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Industry Information for Legal Occupations

HIGHEST PAYING INDUSTRIES

1. Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation: $133,390

2. Utilities: $130,780

3. Management of Companies and Enterprises: $121,970

4. Wholesale Trade: $120,780

5. Information: $113,210

Table 11. Highest Paying Industries

INDUSTRIES WITH HIGHEST CONCENTRATION

1. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: 82.1

2. Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation): 25.56

3. Management of Companies and Enterprises: 10.42

4. Finance and Insurance: 8.99

5. Real Estate and Rental and Leasing: 3.26

Table 12. Industries with the Highest Concentration (Jobs Per Thousand Available in the Industry)

POPULAR INDUSTRIES

1. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: 61.08 %

2. Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation): 25.56 %

3. Finance and Insurance: 4.99 %

4. Management of Companies and Enterprises: 2.00 %

5. Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services: 1.84 %

Table 13. Popular Industries
(Percentage of Total Employment for Occupational Group)

FASTEST GROWING INDUSTRIES

1. Wholesale Trade: 0.04 %

2. Health Care and Social Assistance: 0.03 %

3. Federal, State, and Local Government (OES Designation): 0.00 %

4. Educational Services: 0.00 %

5. Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services: 0.00 %

Table 14. Industries with the Fastest Growing Employment

U.S. States Information for Legal Occupations

HIGHEST PAYING STATES

1. District of Columbia: $139,820

2. New York: $119,670

3. California: $119,130

4. Delaware: $111,730

5. Illinois: $107,770

Table 15. States with the Highest Salaries

STATES WITH HIGHEST CONCENTRATION

1. District of Columbia: 58.63

2. New York: 12.23

3. Delaware: 11.25

4. Florida: 10.31

5. Maryland: 9.9

Table 16. States with the Highest Concentration (Jobs Per Thousand Available in the State)

POPULAR STATES

1. California: 11.56 %

2. New York: 10.28 %

3. Florida: 7.38 %

4. Texas: 6.82 %

5. Illinois: 4.42 %

Table 17. States with Largest Employment
(Percentage of Total Employment for Occupational Group)

FASTEST GROWING STATES

1. Arkansas: 0.32 %

2. Tennessee: 0.12 %

3. Idaho: 0.07 %

4. Utah: 0.07 %

5. Nevada: 0.05 %

Table 18. States with the Fastest Growing Employment

U.S. Metro Areas Information for Legal Occupations

HIGHEST PAYING METRO AREAS

1. Madera, CA: $155,330

2. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA: $139,220

3. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA: $135,690

4. New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY: $132,160

5. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA: $129,970

Table 19. Metro Areas with the Highest Salaries

METRO AREAS WITH HIGHEST CONCENTRATION

1. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC: 25.84

2. Tallahassee, FL: 21.1

3. Charleston, WV: 16.11

4. San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, CA: 15.88

5. Carson City, NV: 15.71

Table 20. Metro Areas with the Highest Concentration (Jobs Per Thousand Available in the Metro Area)

POPULAR METRO AREAS

1. New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY: 7.39 %

2. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC: 5.96 %

3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA: 3.80 %

4. Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL: 3.56 %

5. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA: 2.10 %

Table 21. Metro Areas with Largest Employment
(Percentage of Total Employment for Occupational Group)

FASTEST GROWING METRO AREAS

1. Kankakee-Bradley, IL: 0.83 %

2. Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR: 0.47 %

3. Pine Bluff, AR: 0.45 %

4. Johnson City, TN: 0.44 %

5. Fond du Lac, WI: 0.44 %

Table 22. Metro Areas with the Fastest Growing Employment

Further Information for Legal Occupations

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Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor