in Legal Job Market Reports

Legal Job Market Report 5th December 2018

Summary

As ever we undertake a comparison between the last calendar month and the same time period in 2017 to see if there has been any noticeable difference, particularly with the current political uncertainty. In November 2018 we saw an increase of 9% in the number of new solicitors registering compared with November 2018. The number of new vacancies fell by 6% during the same time frame. This is the second month in succession we have seen a fall in the number of vacancies.

Statistics

November 2018 – Live Jobs:
* London vacancies: 171 (-3%)
* South East: 451 (+1.5%)
* South West: 91 (+1%)
* Midlands: 70 (+1%)
* North West: 103 (-1%)
* North East: 72 (+3%)
* Wales: 26 (+4%)

General Statistics for November 2018 (comparison is to November 2017)
Current live vacancies: 990
New permanent vacancies added: 29 (37)
New locum vacancies added: 34 (30)
New candidates registering: 50 (46)
Average ‘Job Strength Factor’ for new vacancies: 3.5 (OK)

We have 31 law firms and legal businesses for sale at the moment – an increase of 24%, although we are working hard to expand this side of our business.

TP Legal Recruitment publishes the number of new vacancies, new candidates and indicate the increase or decrease from the previous month. We aim to assist the legal profession by showing the market from our perspective. Our clients tend to be high street law firms, in house legal departments and smaller sized commercial practices. The average job strength gives a good indication of the market because:
1. A poor Job Strength on vacancies indicates a struggling market. When trade is bad, employers seek options for increasing turnover which involve sourcing candidates with their own following and no salary, or offering low salaries and/or poor conditions.
2. A strong Job Strength on vacancies indicates a buoyant market, particularly if it is in connection with an increase in numbers of new vacancies.
Vacancies are each graded 1-5, with 5 being a very strong vacancy and 1 being a very weak vacancy.

 

Jonathan Fagan

Jonathan Fagan LLM FIRP is Managing Director of Ten-Percent Legal Recruitment. He has been recruiting solicitors and legal support staff for law firms and in house legal departments for over 20 years and handles roles from junior fee earners through to partners and law firm sales/purchases. A non-practising solicitor on the Roll since 2000, he is also the author of a number of legal career books, which are available at www.ten-percent.uk. You can contact Jonathan at cv@ten-percent.co.uk