Mortgage companies hired 1,500 full-time employees in May, ending 14 consecutive months of workforce reductions, and it could be a sign that the jobs drain may be ending soon. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector rose from 356,300 in April to 357,800 in May. A Mortgage Bankers Association economist expects to see more layoffs over the next few months. However, MBA senior director of economic forecasting Orawin Velz says industry employment could bottom out around 348,000. The previous uptick in mortgage jobs was in February 2007 when the industry had 489,800 employees. Since then, 132,000 people have lost their jobs or left the industry.
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