An increase in the number of people working for mortgage brokers was not enough to offset a decline in the rest of the mortgage industry.
Mortgage-related jobs totaled 246,900 during May based on data released today by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Positions in real estate finance declined from a revised 247,600 during April. During May 2009, mortgage employment was a revised 265,200.
The latest totals, which were reported by the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, included 187,900 people in “real estate credit,” off from April’s 189,600.
But “mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers” increased to 59,000 from 58,000.
Driven by a decline in the number of temporary employees working on this year’s Census, overall U.S. employment was down 125,000 during June. Still, unemployment fell to 9.5 percent from 9.7 percent in May as private-sector payroll employment increased by 83,000.
