Mortgage Employment Index Declines Most in 6 Years

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Mar 24, 2014, 07:15 ET

DALLAS, March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Mortgage-related job losses continued to mount, reaching the highest level in six years. But layoffs are quickly slowing.

Mortgage Daily tracked nearly 22,000 layoffs for its Fourth Quarter 2013 Mortgage Employment Index.

Layoffs were 24% worse than the third quarter and 810% more than a year earlier.

Mortgage layoffs during the fourth-quarter 2013 exceeded hirings by 18,797.

Net job activity has deteriorated for three consecutive quarters and was the worst quarter since 2007.

Period	Layoffs	Hirings	Net
Q4 2013	21,878	3,081	-18,797
Q3 2013	17,683	2,401	-15,282
Q4 2012	2,404	4,975	+2,571

"Mortgage lenders and servicers continued to adjust staffing levels to account for dwindling refinance activity and fewer distressed loans," said Mortgage Daily Founder and Publisher Sam Garcia. "But despite the dismal numbers, early indications are that mortgage layoffs have turned sharply lower in the first quarter of this year."

For all of 2013, mortgage staffing declined by 31,931 employees -- the worst year since 2008.

In California, there were 2,997 more layoffs than hirings in the fourth quarter.-- a bigger loss than any other state.

Biggest Job Losses by State
State	Net
California	-2,997
Ohio	-2,417
Florida	-1,657
North Carolina	-966
Texas	-743

At the other end of the spectrum was Indiana, where jobs expanded by more than 300.

Biggest Job Gains by State
State	Net
Indiana	303
Michigan	61
Kansas	56
Montana	10
Connecticut	8

The three biggest mortgage lenders in the country experienced the most fourth-quarter job losses.

Biggest Job Losses by Company
Company	Net
Wells Fargo	-6,047
BofA	-4,000
Chase	-3,884
Citigroup	-1,136
SunTrust Mortgage	-800

Three growing companies -- Stonegate Mortgage, Walter Investment and United Shore Financial -- were among the five firms with the biggest gains.

Biggest Job Gains by Company
Company	Net
Stonegate	396
Walter Investment	200
Claims Recovery Financial	150
Genpact Limited	150
United Shore	150

Full Q4 2013 report is available to subscribers:
www.MortgageDaily.com/stories/MortgageEmploymentIndex032414.asp?spcode=pr

Historical Mortgage Employment Index data is at:
http://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageEmploymentIndex.asp?spcode=pr

Mortgage employment news:
http://www.mortgagedaily.com/MortgageEmployment.asp?spcode=pr

About Mortgage Daily
Founded in 1998 by 20-year mortgage industry veteran Sam Garcia, Mortgage Daily is a leading online source of mortgage news and mortgage statistics. Mortgage Daily also publishes the Mortgage Market Index, Mortgage Litigation Index, Mortgage Fraud Index and ranking of the biggest lenders. Visit Mortgage Daily at www.MortgageDaily.com.