Mortgage companies cut 1,500 full-time employees from their payrolls in July, according to government figures released Friday.
However, the mortgage brokerage segment added jobs for the first time since October 2010.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment in the entire residential finance sector fell to 237,000 positions in July, from 238,800 in June.
Brokerage firms added 400 employees to their payrolls in July. Total employment at mortgage brokerage firms stood at 49,000 as of July 31, down 18% from a year ago. Overall, employment in the mortgage industry is down 9% from a year ago. (The mortgage jobs numbers lag the national figures by a month.)
A report from the Conference of State Bank Supervisors shows that the number of state-licensed loan officers rose nearly 7% in the second quarter, from the first quarter. According to the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System and Registry, there were 106,880 nonbank loan officers on June 30, compared with 100,100 loan officers in the first quarter. Nearly 350,000 loan officers at banks and their mortgage units registered for the first time in the second quarter.
Some say the number of bank loan officers is inflated and includes bankers who have little involvement with mortgages. A banker from a nationwide depository said he registered as a loan officer because he sometimes is asked to facilitate a home equity loan. He said he never makes first mortgages.
