A monthly increase in the number of mortgage brokers was more than enough to offset a drop in the number of people working in real estate finance. The broader U.S. employment picture also improved.
Based on data released Friday from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, mortgage industry jobs numbered 246,400 during September.
The total represented a slight improvement from a revised 245,500 reported for the month of August.
The bureau said that in September of last year, a revised 257,500 people were employed in the sector.
The month-over-month increase was supported by jobs labeled by the government as “mortgage and non-mortgage loan brokers.” Headcount in that group moved up to 58,400 from 56,400 in August.
People in “real estate credit,” however, were fewer — with the number of jobs falling to 188,000 from 189,100.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said the October unemployment rate was 9.6 percent — about the same as it has been since May. Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 151,000 in October and is up 874,000 since December 2009.
