Mortgage Jobs Rise Yet Again

Employment in the mortgage banking and brokerage sectors rose 1% in December from the previous month as lenders added workers to handle the tidal wave of loan applications.Compared with the same month a year ago, the two sectors (which are listed as one in government statistics) increased their employment ranks by 16.6%. At the end of December mortgage jobs totaled 412,400, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A year ago the number stood at 353,500. How much longer the industry will continue to add workers remains unclear. According to preliminary survey information being compiled by National Mortgage News, the industry funded a record $940 billion in the fourth quarter alone. And residential loan volumes continued strong in January as well. "I think the first quarter is going to be very good for this industry," one investment banker told MortgageWire. The BLS can be found online at http://stats.bls.gov.