After a surprise jump in the number of real estate finance jobs during July, mortgage employment settled back.
Mortgage bankers and mortgage brokers employed 245,500 people in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.
Lending jobs were lower than a revised 247,400 during July. The decline followed July’s increase of 2,300 positions.
The bureau, part of the U.S. Department of Labor, said mortgage employment stood at a revised 259,700 in August 2009.
The latest figures included 189,000 people employed in “real estate credit,” down from July’s 190,700. “Mortgage and nonmortgage loan brokers” represented 56,500, easing from 56,700 the month before.
Across all U.S. industries, nonfarm payroll employment was down 95,000 jobs in September, the bureau reported. The unemployment rate was unchanged from August at 9.6 percent.
