Mortgage Jobs Stabilizing?

Employment in the mortgage industry appears to be stabilizing, with a loss of only 700 jobs in February, as refinancing activity and loan workouts keep the current work force busy. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector fell from 364,800 in January to 364,100 in February. The industry has lost 28% of its work force since February 2006, and it is back to the level last seen in July 2002, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's senior director of economic forecasting, Orawin Velz. "Job losses seem to be stabilizing," Ms. Velz said. "That is good news for us." However, the forecaster sees industry employment continuing to decline at a moderate rate for the rest of the year as the economy pulls out of a mild recession. "Originations will be quite strong in the first half" due to refinancings, she predicted. But refis will slow considerably in the second half as the economic stimulus package takes effect and the Federal Reserve stops easing, the MBA economist said. The BLS can be found online at http://stats.bls.gov.