The latest reading on jobs in the mortgage industry indicates a month-over-month expansion, though headcount was off from a year earlier. U.S. unemployment, meanwhile, fell.
U.S. employers added 252,000 nonfarm jobs in December, according to data released Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Job growth tumbled from a revised 353,000 during the previous month.
The November figure was originally reported at 321,000.
The bureau, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor, previously reported that 74,000 jobs were added in December 2013.
The
unemployment rate tumbled to 5.6 percent from 5.8 percent in November and was also better than 6.7 percent a year earlier.
Non-bank mortgage employment, which is reported on a one-month lag, was
293,200 as of November, according to the BLS.
Mortgage jobs expanded from 289,400 in October. The prior-month figure was originally reported at
289,200.
In November 2013, there were
294,500 non-bank mortgage jobs. The year-earlier number was revised up from 280,600 in the initial report.
The November 2014 mortgage total reflected 217,800 “real estate credit” jobs, more than the 216,100 a month earlier but off from a revised 219,800 a year earlier.
Also included in the latest month were
75,400 “mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers.” This category grew from 73,300 in October and a revised 74,700 in December 2013.
Based on an analysis of market share data and the BLS report, Mortgage Daily estimates that total mortgage industry employment — including mortgage jobs at banks and credit unions — was 651,471 in November, increasing from 643,028 the previous month.