Monthly data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics
By MortgageDaily.com staff
5/5/2003

Mortgage industry numbers stayed level in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In its monthly report, the bureau counted 425,000 people working in the mortage banking or brokerage business in its seasonally-adjusted establishment data, a couple of thousand more than March. This number skyrocketed by 123,000 between January 2001 and February 2003 and accounted for all the net growth in the finance industry, according to the report. However, in the last three months, growth has been flat, the bureau said.

One segment continuing its climb is construction employment, according to the statistics. The bureau reported general building contractors gaining 13,000 positions in the month, all in the residential sector.

The overall unemployment rate rose to 6.0 percent in April, according to the data compiled by the U.S. Department of the Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which releases them.

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