The job news in the mortgage sector mirrored good news for the overall U.S. job market. Interest rates are already feeling the sting as the stock market shot up. Mortgage broker employment, which grew by 6 percent from the prior month, hasn’t been this strong since 2010.
As of June 30, a preliminary 276,600 people were employed in real estate finance.
Mortgage employment expanded from a revised 268,800 jobs in the industry as of May 31.
The data, provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, indicate that industry staffing was also higher than a revised 266,800 people employed as of June 30, 2011.
Behind June’s strong activity were companies like Quicken Loans Inc., which expanded staff by more than 600 people during the three months ended June 30 and Nationstar Mortgage LLC, which saw total employment grow by 900 jobs in the first half of this year.
In addition, Navy Federal Credit Union was expected to add 300 jobs in the second quarter, Digital Risk expanded its staffing by approximately 286 jobs during the same period and Adecco Staffing US added around 200 mortgage jobs in the quarter.
Jobs classified as “real estate credit” accounted for a preliminary 213,500 mortgage positions as of June, climbing from a revised 209,000 a month earlier. There haven’t been this many jobs in the category since May 2011, when a revised 214,200 people were employed.
“Mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers” represented 63,100 of the latest number, up from a revised 59,800 in May. This category hasn’t seen a higher number since December 2010, when a revised 65,300 brokers were on BLS’ books.
Total U.S. nonfarm employment increased by 163,000 jobs in July, more than double the 80,000 jobs added in June and better than expectations.
The strong payroll number had the Dow Jones Industrial Average up around 220 points in early trading and the price of the 10-year Treasury note trading down 23/32. Treasury yields rise when Treasury prices fall.
Another key metric is the U.S. unemployment rate, which rose to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June. The contrasting job gain and unemployment metrics suggest that more people were out searching for a job last month.
