End of Q1 Sees Slightly Muted Job Growth

Legal job trends in March aligned more with Leopard Solutions’ predictions, following a sizzling start to 2024, where openings skied past our forecasts for the first two months of the quarter. While Leopard Solutions data predictions were still tracking within a slim margin of error, -1.6% (-18) and -0.7% (-6) for all firms we track, and US-based firms we track, respectively, openings are closing slower, and jobs are taking slightly longer to fill.

Monthly quarterly predictions of total law jobs, jobs open and closed vs. Actuals
[Monthly quarterly predictions of total law jobs, jobs open and closed vs. Actuals]

The stagnation has contributed to total jobs climbing to 6,079, 2.2% greater than the 5,948 jobs Leopard Solutions predicted at the end of February.

US law jobs fared slightly better, with 754 positions closed in March, 85 off the predicted pace. Despite the perceived cooling, openings are 2% ahead of the pace our algorithm foresaw on January 31.

Quarterly predictions of Q1 USA jobs

Leopard Solutions predictions are derived from our proprietary algorithm that quantifies job opening figures by analyzing the seasonality of employment opportunities and the trajectory of market trends observed in the preceding months.

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