Mortgage Jobs Jump

44,000 more jobs than year ago
By MortgageDaily.com staff
10/7/2002

Employment numbers in the mortgage industry continued to rise in the month of September, according to the monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

About 381,000 people were employed in the industry in September, which is up from 375,000 in August and 372,000 in July, according to the seasonally adjusted report.

That's also 44,900 more mortgage jobs than September 2001.

The jump in jobs runs alongside the Mortgage Bankers Association of America's findings in its survey for the week ending Sept. 27: the mortgage loan application index increased 8.6% to its highest-ever level of 1285.4 on a seasonally adjusted basis from 1183.8 the prior week.

The association also announced the average contract interest rate for a 30-year fixed rate mortgage decreased to a record low 5.84%.

The Bureau reported general unemployment at 5.6% for September, the lowest since February and down a notch from 5.7% in August. The highest unemployment rate to date for 2002 was 6% in April.

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