Mortgage Industry Adds Jobs in First Increase Since July

The residential mortgage industry added 200 full-time employees to their payrolls in November, the first uptick in industry employment since July. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector rose to 255,700, compared to 255,500 in October. The BLS data shows the increase is entirely due to more mortgage brokers having jobs. Employment at mortgage banking firms was flat in November. Overall, the mortgage industry experienced a 10% drop in its workforce over the past 12 months. Major lenders have relied on outsourcing and temporary workers to deal with fluctuating demand. Meanwhile, the nation's unemployment rate held steady at 10% in December, but 85,000 workers were laid off, according to the new jobs report. This disappointed analysts who were looking for a sign that the job market had finally turned the corner. It is also the second disappointing economic report this week. On Tuesday, the National Association of Realtors reported that its index of pending sales plunged 16% in November. (There is a one-month lag in BLS reporting of mortgage industry employment data.)