Mortgage Jobs Rise Ever So Slightly

According to a report in National mortgage news,

Mortgage-related employment rose every so slightly in May with residential firms adding 2,600 new jobs during the month, according to government figures released Friday morning.

However, the mortgage broker segment continued to suffer job losses with 1,600 workers leaving the business either voluntarily or through a job loss.

Overall, the mortgage sector employed 241,500 full-time workers in May, up 1% from April. Compared to the same month a year ago the sector shed 17,300 jobs. (The mortgage figures trail the national numbers by a month.)

The mortgage broker segment supported 50,200 workers in May compared to 61,000 a year ago. Broker employed peaked in April 2006 at 148,200 workers.

Jay Brinkmann, chief economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association told National Mortgage News that during the second-half lenders will focus on how to “manage and reduce capacity.”

He noted that some smaller firms may increase hiring – with an emphasis on recruiting high performance loan officers – in an attempt to gain market share. “Of course not everyone can increase market share at the same time,” he said.

Although the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides numbers on broker employment it does not segment out servicing related jobs. MBA believes the emphasis on helping delinquent borrowers has increased servicing employment somewhat but with late payments now falling hiring may not be as robust going forward.

The national employment report came in much weaker than expected with nonfarm payrolls rising only 18,000 in June, the weakest reading since September, and well below economists' expectations for an increase of 90,000 positions. The unemployment rate rose 0.1% to 9.2%, the highest level this year.

In a statement Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan said, “June’s nonfarm payroll gain of 18,000 shows that May’s weakness was not an aberration. This raises doubts that the second half of the year will see much improvement in the overall economy from the anemic performance of the first two quarters.”

He added that, “The disappointing news on the labor front will only serve to further damage already depressed consumer confidence and the demand for housing. While home prices have stabilized recently going in to the spring/summer selling season, this report bodes poorly for house price expectations.”

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