Mortgage companies ramped up hiring in October, adding 1,500 full-time employees to their payrolls, according to government figures released Friday morning.
All of the new hires came from mortgage brokerage firms, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The agency reported that employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector rose to 236,500 in October from 235,000 in September.
New data from the National Mortgage Licensing System shows that the number of state-licensed loan officers rose by 6,470 during the third quarter to 113,350 as of September 30.
The NMLS has entered the phase where nearly all existing LOs are now registered and a majority of newly listed 6,470 LOs are either entering the mortgage profession or returning after a hiatus.
Meanwhile, Friday's jobs report shows total nonfarm payroll employment rose 120,000 in November, up from 100,000 in the previous month.
The unemployment rate declined to 8.6% from 9% in October. (There is a one-month lag in BLS reporting of employment data in the mortgage industry.)
Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan said the 120,000 increase in new jobs "confirms that the economy has strengthened" since the summer.
Placed within the context of a weak and slow healing housing market, this report is a net positive, but certainly not the game changer needed to drive up housing demand in the near term," he said.
Mortgage Employment
