Despite a drop in the number of mortgage broker employees, the mortgage industry managed to hire more people than it laid off. But overall U.S. unemployment has been worse for three months in a row.
The number of people employed in the mortgage sector was 241,500 during May based on data released Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Mortgage staffing expanded from a revised 238,900 in April.
A year earlier, there were 258,800 people employed in real estate finance.
May’s strength was concentrated in jobs classified as “real estate credit,” with the number jumping to 191,300 from April’s 187,100.
“Mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers,” however, saw a reduction in headcount to 50,200 from 51,800.
Across all industries, nonfarm payrolls edged up 18,000 during June after rising by 54,000 in May.
The U.S. unemployment rate — a barometer of economic health — worsened in June. The bureau, which operates within the Department of Labor, reported that unemployment climbed for the third consecutive month to 9.2 percent from 9.1 percent in May.
