If you give the table 'Around' wrapping, you can set the required space above & below without the need for empty paragraphs that will inevitably be problematic when the empty paragraph encounters a page boundary. Alternatively, you can increase the existing preceding/trailing paragraph space after/before to provide the desired spacing. Inserting empty paragraphs is the least desirable approach.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]