Employment data

The number, juxtaposed with a recent survey that suggests companies will hire, raises questions as to whether numbers have bottomed out. Much depends on rates.

While home lending employment fell, a stronger-than-expected report on the broader labor market immediately raised concerns about the potential for higher interest rates.

The broader economy added 150,000 positions, a number the bond market initially read as likely to soften rates, but some economists interpreted differently.

The reduction in employment followed a rise in rates this summer, but hiring has generally been stable since spring.

Nonbank brokers and lenders typically scale back after the spring homebuying season and the housing market could be particularly slow for the rest of this year.

The May uptick in nonbank housing-finance payrolls came almost entirely from lender hiring as loan broker numbers plateaued and construction demand persisted.

Staff retained or added for the spring homebuying season has stemmed the tide of layoffs for now, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest figures.

Lenders and brokers have slashed two-thirds of the positions added since 2020, but the question now is whether reducing staffing to the level seen that year will be enough.

But that was not enough to offset the fourth consecutive monthly decline in total nonbank industry jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The industry has cut tens of thousands of positions since January, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates.

But the overall employment picture was bright in July, returning to a level last seen before the pandemic, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data found.

And as long as broader unemployment remains low and inflation stays high, monetary policymakers will likely keep raising short-term rates in ways that could challenge home lending.

But several companies have cuts pending, and overall employment remains strong enough to keep putting some upward pressure on rates.

The March estimates for payrolls of nonbanks involved in home lending confirm widespread anecdotal reports of industry layoffs, but strength in broader financial-services hiring could pick up the slack.

Broader hiring remained relatively strong and unemployment fell to a pandemic low during March, but a yield curve inversion — which can signal a recession — is concerning some.

But recent rate drops in response to the Ukraine invasion and increases in broader employment suggest another uptick in housing finance payrolls is not out of the question.

Employment numbers suggest that interest in home purchases is bearing up well despite some limits on consumer spending and normalization in the mortgage market after two banner years.

Total U.S. jobs came in below consensus estimates in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But the latest employment report also reveals that if construction hiring remains sufficiently strong, home purchase originations are on track to grow to $1.7 trillion from $1.6 trillion next year.

The deal between the two fintechs aims to cut mortgage decisioning times for lenders and expand access to financing for consumers.