Mortgage jobs may have topped out.

The number of people working in real estate finance jobs during November was 533,700, down 200 jobs from the previous month's revised figures, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. During the latest period, about 47,100 more people were working in the mortgage industry than in November 2004.

The latest figures from the government, which reports industry details on a one-month lag, mark the first month since December 2004 that there was a decline in mortgage employment. And the outlook isn't promising; the level of applications reported this week by the Mortgage Bankers Association was reportedly the lowest since the week ended June 7, 2002.

November's numbers were comprised of 395,500 people in "real estate credit" and 138,200 "mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers," the bureau, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, reported.

Unemployment during December was 4.9%, according to an announcement, "little changed" from November.