Mortgage industry hirings skyrocketed during the first quarter of the year, according to figures published on PR Newswire Monday. The report showed that mortgage companies hired 8,877 people from January to March – a monumental increase from 925 industry new hires in the fourth quarter of last year and 1,199 in the first quarter of 2008.
But despite the surge, hirings were outnumbered by persistent layoffs – leaving a net job loss in the sector. The employment analysis, which was compiled by MortgageDaily.com, revealed that mortgage layoffs exceeded hirings by 1,751 during the first quarter. Still, the Q1 numbers were an improvement over the net loss of 7,783 positions recorded in the prior period and a 14,205 deficit a year earlier.

The study showed that first-quarter mortgage layoffs totaled 10,628. Layoffs at HSBC, which shut down its consumer finance operations, exceeded 5,000 – the most of any company. JPMorgan Chase had the second largest number of layoffs, followed by Citigroup. By state, Illinois saw the highest level of job cuts, then California and Florida.
Wells Fargo, which led the pack in hirings, said in its earnings report that it added more than 5,000 “operations team members” during the first quarter. Bank of America also reported that it was in the process of adding 5,000 “fulfillment” positions, placing it prominently behind Wells. At the state level, Florida led in hirings, trailed by Pennsylvania and Michigan.
According to the online job search engine Indeed.com, employers are currently looking to fill around 43,600 open mortgage positions.
Mortgage job data reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was adjusted downward by the Obama administration. Under the Bush administration, total mortgage jobs reported in November were 337,600. But the new administration’s first report, released on February 6, reflected a revised 284,800 for the sector. The bureau reported that mortgage employment declined from 279,800 in December to 271,100 in February.