Ohio Is 3rd Highest in Mortgage Job Losses
DALLAS -- More than 15,000 jobs were lost in the mortgage industry in the third quarter, making it the worst quarter since 2006 and before the housing bubble burst. Even bigger losses are ahead, says Mortgage Daily, a trade publication.
For the third quarter, Texas lost the most mortgage jobs, 1,406,Mortgage Daily reports. Florida folows, with a loss of 1,114, and Ohio, which lost 600, according to the publication’s third-quarter mortgage employment index.
With more than 17,000 layoffs and fewer than 2,500 hired, the net loss was 15,282 in the three months ended Sept. 30. In the second quarter, a net of 2,981 jobs were lost. The sector had gained 2,926 jobs in the third quarter of 2012.
The previous worst loss occurred in 2007 when a net loss of 88,816 jobs occurred.
"The industry was hit with a double whammy during the period," said Sam Garcia, publisher of Mortgage Daily. "Improving loan performance reduced demand for servicing employees, while rising rates dragged down refinance activity and eliminated the need for production employees."
Preliminary fourth-quarter data suggest that layoffs will be even higher in the fourthe-quarter report. Elevated layoff activity will continue into at least the first quarter of 2014.
Although Arizona had the biggest net gain at 350 jobs, it is taking a beating in the current period. Missouri gained 250 jobs and Kansas added 216.
The country's three biggest lenders -- Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America -- were responsible for much of the quarter’s results. Bank of America dropped a net 6,575 jobs, Wells Fargo 5,300 and Chase 1,810.
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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