Nearly 100,000 people have given up careers in mortgage lending since last year.

During September, 403,600 people were employed in mortgage related jobs, falling by 25,100 since August, according to data reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics today. Mortgage jobs tumbled from September 2006 -- when the number was 502,600.

Employment figures are reported about one month after the end of each month.

People working in "real estate credit" totaled 273,100 in September, down 22,300 from the prior month, the bureau, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, said. "Mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers" accounted for 130,500 of the month's total, off 2,800 from August.

September's monthly decline was impacted by 110 layoffs at ResMAE Mortgage Corp., 144 job cuts at Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., layoffs at First Franklin Financial Corp., the elimination of 1,000 positions at Washington Mutual, 1,500 layoffs at First Horizon Home Loans, 575 more job cuts at Option One Mortgage Corp., 57 Lennar Corp. layoffs, Countrywide Financial Corp.'s warning it will lay off as many as 12,000 this year, 1,000 planned job cuts at IndyMac Bancorp Inc., 1,000 announced layoffs at National City Corp., the elimination of 850 positions at Lehman Brothers and NovaStar Financial Inc.'s reorganization resulting in 275 layoffs.

September figures also reflect the collapse of Aapex Mortgage Corp., the bankruptcy of Personal Financial Management, Nationstar Mortgage LLC's closing of its wholesale operations, HSBC Finance Corp.'s winding down of its Decision One Mortgage subsidiary, the failure of Expanded Mortgage Credit, E*TRADE Financial Corp.'s exit from wholesale lending, the closing of Colony Mortgage Corp., the collapse of CFIC Home Mortgage and LownHome Financial's failure.

Overall U.S. employment rose by 166,000 during October to 146 million, according to the report. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent.