| 9 to 5
Mortgage employment continues to rise, for now November 5, 2002 By MortgageDaily.com staff |
| Employment numbers in the mortgage industry continued to rise in the month of October, according to the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The improvement comes amidst rising unemployment in the U.S. and a drop in mortgage activity.
The industry, which includes mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers, employed about 398,000 people last month, up from 381,000 in September and 374,000 in August, according to the seasonally adjusted report. The October number represents 57,000 more lending jobs than the same time last year. However, a the Mortgage Bankers Association of America’s mortgage loan application index for the week ending Oct. 25 brings some negative news to the positive bureau report: loan applications decreased 19.3% to 911.0 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1128.3 the previous week. The record high application index of 1238.2 was set the week ended Sept. 6. The bureau reported general unemployment during October at 5.7%, the same rate in August. September’s was 5.6%, and the highest unemployment rate in 2002 was 6% in April. |
