Employment in the mortgage industry reached a post-crisis high in 2012, according to data from ""_Mortgage Daily's_"":http://www.mortgagedaily.com/ _Mortgage Employment Index_.
[IMAGE]The index showed a gain of 2,571 jobs during last year's fourth quarter, making it the sixth straight quarter to post an increase. However, job growth wasn't as strong as the third quarter, which saw 2,926 mortgage jobs created.
The fourth quarter's figure was the sum of 2,404 layoffs and 4,975 hirings.
According to _Mortgage Daily_, Illinois posted the largest employment expansion last quarter, adding 359 jobs. [COLUMN_BREAK]
Texas was next (with 328), followed by California (226), Pennsylvania (199), and Ohio (140). Florida fared the worst, losing a net total of 469 jobs.
""Guaranteed Rate"":https://www.guaranteedrate.com/ reported the greatest growth in staffing, gaining 652 jobs in Q4 2012. It was followed by ""Nationstar"":http://www.nationstarmtg.com/ (with an estimated 600 new jobs) and ""JPMorgan Chase"":http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/home.htm (with 333 jobs). ""Bank of America"":https://www.bankofamerica.com/ lost the most jobs, cutting 1,098.
For the entire year, the mortgage industry gained 8,978 new jobs, more than twice what was gained in 2011 (4,320). According to _Mortgage Daily_, the annual improvement was the largest reported since the index was launched in 2006.
While last year was good for mortgage industry staffing, _Mortgage Daily_ founder Sam Garcia expressed doubt that the boom would last.
""With home loan performance consistently exhibiting improvement, mortgage servicers are beginning to reduce default staffing levels,"" Garcia said. ""At the same time, as the Fed's aggressive campaign to keep rates low draws to a close, the refinance wave which has bolstered mortgage employment over the past year will subside and reduce demand for production employees. Compliance staffing, however, will likely remain elevated.""