The residential mortgage industry added 200 full-time employees to payrolls in November, the first uptick in industry employment since July.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that employment in the mortgage banker/broker sector rose to 255,700, compared with 255,500 in October.
The data shows the increase is entirely because of more mortgage brokers having jobs. Employment at mortgage banking firms was flat in November.
Overall, the mortgage industry experienced a 10% drop in its work force over the past 12 months. Major lenders have relied on outsourcing and temporary workers to deal with fluctuating demand.
There is a one-month lag in the bureau's reporting of mortgage industry employment data.
