What Is the Job Outlook for Court Reporters?

Unlike other careers that are putting the brakes on hiring because of the downturn in the economy, job prospects are expected to be excellent in court reporting, especially for people who are certified, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Bureau believes that demand for real-time broadcast captioning and translating will boost employment growth in court reporting. In fact, the Bureau projects employment in court reporting to grow 25 percent, much faster than the average of all other occupations between 2006 and 2016.

Why the demand? Because there always seems to be a need. Civil and criminal cases have increased consistently over the years, and accuracy has never been more important when it comes to transcribing court proceedings. An increasing need to create live TV captions, a skill in which court reporters are trained, has also spurred this occupation’s growth, along with a need for other real-time services like broadcast captioning or translating for the deaf or hearing impaired.

While it would seem that federal, state and local courts’ budget constraints and the onset of electronic reporters and transcribers might halt job growth, that is not necessarily the case. Courts use electronic means in a limited capacity, so the traditional court reporter continues to be the most useful way to quickly turn words that are spoken into words that are written, searchable and readable.

Then there is the job growth that takes place outside of legal proceedings. The Bureau notes that another reason for anticipated job growth in court reporting is due to federal legislation requiring all new TV programming to provide captions for the deaf and hearing impaired. The same will be true of Spanish-language programming by 2010. ADA regulations mandate that the deaf and hearing impaired have a right to real-time translation in their college classes.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs even recommends training in court reporting for older military veterans, both because of the typically safe and comfortable work environment and because the job outlook in this career remains on solid ground.

In conclusion, there will continue to be more job openings than jobseekers in some areas of court reporting due to these newer developments, and due to fewer people entering the profession as stenographic typists.