RISMEDIA, January 22, 2009-Mortgage-related layoffs have eased and may be near a bottom, according to employment data tracked by http://www.mortgagedaily.com/. Quarterly job cuts were down by nearly 25 percent, and annual migration out of real estate finance dropped by more than half.
U.S. layoffs in the mortgage industry were 8,646 during the fourth-quarter 2008. After factoring in 925 new hirings, the net job loss was 7,721. In the third quarter, the revised net job loss was 10,233, while a year earlier it was approximately 16,711.
California saw the most mortgage jobs lost during the latest quarter, followed by Minnesota and Florida.
By company, Residential Capital LLC and its affiliates saw the biggest quarterly loss of mortgage jobs. Subsidiaries of JPMorgan Chase & Co. had the second highest loss of mortgage positions, followed by Citigroup Inc. and companies it owns.
Last year’s net job loss of 36,737 was down about 58 percent from 2007.
California also led annual mortgage job losses, then Florida and New Jersey.
“As job losses worsened in other sectors, mortgage job losses began to ease,” said MortgageDaily.com Publisher Sam Garcia. “Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage-backed securities have recently pushed mortgage rates to record lows — fueling refinance demand. In addition to an increase in the number of mortgage firms hiring, we have reported on at least one temporary employment agency seeking to fill thousands of positions.”
Garcia also noted a spike in loan modification firms that are actively recruiting former originators and mortgage brokers.
The full fourth-quarter employment analysis is available to MortgageDaily.com subscribers at: http://www.mortgagedaily.com/EmploymentByStateReport011909.asp?spcode=pr
Complete mortgage employment news coverage, including articles about the layoffs outlined in this report, is available at: http://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageEmployment.asp?spcode=pr
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