| Mortgage Employment Index down 2,981 in second quarter
Aug. 26, 2013 |
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| Declining delinquency drove mortgage servicers to reduce headcount in the second quarter. The biggest casualties were suffered by the nation’s largest servicers, while up-and-coming servicers added to their payrolls. Preliminary data for the current and upcoming quarters indicate the pain will deepen.
There were 2,981 more mortgage layoffs than hirings during the three months ended June 30, according to the Second Quarter 2013 Mortgage Employment Index from Mortgage Daily. The index reflects mortgage-related hirings and layoffs tracked by Mortgage Daily and is based on public company reports, state government employment data and quarterly surveys conducted by Mortgage Daily. The second quarter net job loss in real estate finance contrasted the first quarter, when the industry had net gain of 5,129 jobs — the biggest expansion in nearly four years. In the second quarter of last year, industry-wide staffing grew by 1,335 positions. The most recent period reflected 9,950 layoffs — the highest level of layoffs since the first-quarter 2009, when mortgage firms laid off 10,953 employees. Also reflected in the latest total were 6,969 mortgage hirings.
The net loss of mortgage jobs in California was 1,509 — the worst of any state. New York followed with a mortgage staffing reduction of 1,280 positions, then 515 in South Carolina. Biggest Job Losses by State
Florida fared best in the second quarter, ending the period with 574 more employees in the home lending sector than it started with. After that was a net gain of 300 in Arizona and 242 in Missouri. Biggest Job Gains by State
More second-quarter job losses were experienced by Bank of America Corp. than any other company:Â 5,000. BofA, the nation’s third-biggest servicer in the second quarter, has aggressively been unloading mortgage servicing rights. Also reducing its mortgage servicing portfolio has been JPMorgan Chase &Â Co., where staffing was down 1,826 jobs. Chase is the second-largest servicer. Biggest Job Losses by Company
Nationstar Mortgage Holdings Inc. expanded headcount by 2,300 employees during the second quarter, more than any other mortgage-related firm. No. 2 Walter Investment Management Corp. grew its staffing by 1,400. Behind the gains at Nationstar and Walter has been aggressive growth in their servicing portfolios — driving up staffing demands. A third mortgage company that has also been rapidly expanding its servicing portfolio, Ocwen Financial Corp., relies primarily on offshore employees and has had little impact on U.S. job growth. Biggest Job Gains by Company
Initial data on third- and fourth-quarter mortgage employment indicate that layoffs are accelerating. Behind the job cuts is improving performance on home loans, reducing servicers’ staffing needs. In addition, rising interest rates have significantly slowed refinancing activity, driving down demand for production positions. Both Wells Fargo & Co. and Chase recently disclosed thousands of layoffs planned for the second half. |
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