April 14, 2026
In February 2026, just under 198,300 online job advertisements were posted in Michigan. This represented an increase of 7,800 ads (+4.1 percent) over the month and 29,100 ads (+17.2 percent) over the year. Of the total online job ads, just under 81,300 were newly posted, meaning they did not carry over from previous months. Although this was a reduction of 6,900 newly posted ads (-7.8 percent) from January 2026, it was the largest number of newly posted ads during February since 2022.
Employers in the Healthcare and social assistance (15.6 percent), Retail trade (11.9 percent), and Manufacturing (10.7 percent) industries made up the largest shares of online job ads in February. Although these industries consistently have the most advertisements, Retail trade (+1.1 percent) and Manufacturing (+11.0 percent) saw an increase in ads over the month. The Healthcare and social assistance (-0.1 percent) industry experienced a slight decrease over this period.
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Share of February 2026 Online Job Advertisements by Industry Sector
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine®
Note: Values do not add to 100 percent due to ads without an industry classification
According to the Women in the Michigan Workforce report, women transitioned from minority to majority employment in Legal occupations between 1980 and 2024. In the most recent data (2024), these occupations held a median annual wage of $85,810 and employed 27,470 people, as reported by the Michigan Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. In February 2026, there were nearly 1,100 online job ads for these occupations, representing an elevation in the number of ads from the previous month (+9.5 percent) and from February 2025 (+25.9 percent). Of these ads, roughly 500 were newly posted—the largest number of new postings for Legal occupations in any month of the available data.
Newly Posted Legal Occupations Online Job Advertisements Over Time
Source: The Conference Board-Lightcast Help Wanted OnLine®
The Legal occupations group includes several detailed occupations. Among them, increases in job ads for Lawyers (+60 ads), Paralegals and legal assistants (+30 ads), and Judicial law clerks (+10 ads) were primarily responsible for the over-the-month growth in this group. These same occupations were also solely responsible for the over-the-year increase, as they were the only detailed occupations within the Legal occupations group that grew from February 2025 to February 2026.
Based on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Educational attainment for workers 25 years and older by detailed occupation, half of the detailed occupations that make up the Legal occupations group typically require a doctoral or professional degree. Only the Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers occupation typically requires an education level below an associate degree, demonstrating few opportunities for lower levels of educational attainment within this group. In February, 57.4 percent of the jobs posted for Legal occupations listed a minimum education requirement. A minimum education requirement lists the lowest level of education an employer will accept, but employers may prefer a higher level. Of the postings that listed a minimum education required, 19.4 percent requested a high school diploma or GED, and 7.2 percent requested an associate degree. The remaining 73.2 percent requested a bachelor’s degree or higher, aligning with typical education requirements within this group.
Because Legal occupations are critical to navigating laws and regulations, they are needed in every industry. The Professional, scientific, and technical services (34.3 percent); Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services (8.7 percent); and Finance and insurance (7.5 percent) industries made up the largest shares of online job advertisements for Legal occupations. These three industries typically lead online demand each month for the occupational group.
More information about Michigan job advertisements can be found using the Michigan Online Job Advertisement Dashboard.
