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DALLAS, Aug. 07, 2017 -- Compared to a year earlier, employment in the mortgage industry has expanded. But as quarter-over-quarter headcount was down, some signs point to an increase in layoffs for the sector.
At the conclusion of the first quarter, an estimated 723,900 people worked in real estate finance. The estimate was based on an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data and origination market share.
Estimated industry staffing consisted of 312,400 mortgage jobs at banks, 78,100 home-lending positions at credit unions, and 333,300 non-bank employees at mortgage banking firms.
Total industry headcount has declined from an estimated 742,600 people at the end of 2016. But significant growth has been noted since March 31, 2016, when it was an upwardly revised 643,700.
Estimated Mortgage Staffing
| Type | Q1 2017 | Q4 2016 | Q1 2016 |
| Banks | 312,400 | 339,300 | 276,500 |
| Credit Unions | 78,100 | 68,700 | 59,700 |
| Non-Banks | 333,300 | 334,700 | 307,500 |
| Total | 724,000 | 742,600 | 643,700 |
More recently, Mortgage Daily estimates that mortgage industry staffing has climbed to 740,800 as of mid-2017.
Mortgage Daily tracks quarterly hirings and layoffs in the residential lending sector. In the three months ended March 31, 2017, there were 1,000 layoffs tracked, while hirings were 2,122. That left a gain of 1,122 jobs during the first quarter.
Job Gains/Losses by Quarter
| Layoffs/Hirings | Q1 2017 | Q4 2016 | Q1 2016 |
| Layoffs | 1,000 | 886 | 3,816 |
| Hirings | 2,122 | 4,129 | 3,978 |
| Net | +1,122 | +3,243 | +162 |
But while layoffs were modest in the most-recent three-month period, preliminary data for the second-quarter indicates there have been more than 1,300 layoffs tracked so far for that period, while 1,071 have so far been tracked for the current quarter.
With nearly 220 more mortgage hirings than layoffs during the latest quarter, Wisconsin had the biggest net gain of any state during the first-quarter 2017.
Biggest Job Gains by State - Q1 2017
| State | Net |
| Wisconsin | +219 |
| California | +211 |
| Pennsylvania | +153 |
| South Carolina | +115 |
| Virginia | +74 |
Texas, which had been a model of growth during the era of elevated foreclosure activity, was the biggest net loser during the latest three-month period.
Biggest Job Losses by State - Q1 2017
| State | Net |
| Texas | -168 |
| Florida | -100 |
| Illinois | -88 |
| Tennessee | -13 |
| Maryland | -10 |
With a net gain of more than 400 jobs in the first-quarter 2017, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp. had the biggest staffing growth from the year-end 2016.
Biggest Job Gains by Company - Q1 2017
| Company | Net |
| Fairway Independent Mortgage | 437 |
| Finance of America Holdings LLC | 305 |
| New American Funding | 300 |
| loanDepot LLC | 260 |
| Movement Mortgage | 195 |
More mortgage jobs were lost at Walter Investment Management Corp. than any other mortgage-related organization.
Biggest Job Losses by Company - Q1 2017
| Company | Net |
| Walter Investment Management | -400 |
| PennyMac Financial Services Inc. | -181 |
| Prospect Mortgage LLC | -94 |
| Guaranteed Rate Inc. | -88 |
| Nationstar Mortgage LLC | -38 |
Full Q1 2017 report is available to subscribers:
www.MortgageDaily.com/stories/MortgageEmploymentIndex080717.asp?spcode=pr
Historical Mortgage Employment Index data is at:
http://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageEmploymentIndex.asp?spcode=pr
Mortgage employment news:
http://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageEmployment.asp?spcode=pr
About Mortgage Daily
Founded in 1998 by 20-year mortgage industry veteran Sam Garcia, Mortgage Daily is a leading online source of mortgage news and mortgage statistics. Mortgage Daily also publishes the Mortgage Market Indexand a ranking of the biggest lenders. Visit Mortgage Daily at www.MortgageDaily.com.
CONTACT: [email protected]
