Mortgage Employment Still Roaring

In February the U.S. economy suffered its worst employment drop since the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- but the mortgage industry continued to add jobs like there's no tomorrow.Mortgage employment totaled 421,000 full-time positions in February, a 1.8% gain from January's total and a stunning 17.5% increase from that of a year earlier, according to the Labor Department. Countrywide Home Loans chief Angelo Mozilo told MortgageWire March 5 that loan volumes continue to be strong at his shop. "We're gaining market share," he said. First Collateral's Lynn Merkle said his firm recently had its best day ever, funding 2,000 loans. "February is usually the low point in the cycle, but not this year," Mr. Merkle said. (First Collateral is a warehouse funder that finances mortgage bankers.) Application volumes slowed briefly in early February, lenders reported, but picked up again in recent weeks as mortgage rates fell to new lows.