Mortgage companies trimmed their payrolls in February by 1,600 full-time employees after laying off 10,100 loan officers and support staff in January.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector fell to 248,000 in February from 249,600 in January.
Overall, the workforce in the mortgage industry is down 6% from a year ago and more than half from its high.
The BLS data shows a 5,000 reduction in the number of mortgage brokers since December. The bureau counted only 56,700 brokers in February. The last the time the number of brokers fell below 60,000 was in 2001.
Meanwhile, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae have reported a sharp drop in MBS issuance of 24% and 25% respectfully from January to February.
Mortgage executives must have recognized this slowdown in lending, which triggered the firings and layoffs in January.
Friday's report shows the job market is improving as private U.S. companies hired 230,000 new workers in March after taking on 222,000 new employees in February.
This level of hiring should help to bring down delinquency rates and increase demand for housing.
Employment in residential construction has "remained pretty flat," BLS commissioner Keith Hall told the Joint Economic Committee Friday morning.
"You need to see new housing starts and new home sales pick up for a while before we start to see any significant change in construction [jobs]," Hall said.
(There is a one-month lag in BLS reporting of employment data in the mortgage industry.)
Mortgage Employment
