Hiring in the mortgage industry increased in Q3 for the fifth straight quarter, according to ""_Mortgage Daily's_"":http://www.mortgagedaily.com/ _Mortgage Employment Index_.
[IMAGE]The index shows 8,711 hires were made in the year's third quarter, up more than 3,000 from the last quarter and nearly 3,500 from Q3 2011. Even with an estimated 5,785 layoffs, the industry saw a net increase of nearly 3,000 jobs--more than double the gain in Q2.
For 2012's first three quarters, mortgage and real estate finance companies recruited 7,230 more people than they've laid off.
The boost in employment comes at a time when many of the largest lenders and servicers are cutting staff. According to _Mortgage Daily's_ data, ""JPMorgan Chase"":http://www.jpmorganchase.com/corporate/Home/home.htm saw the most downsizing, reducing its mortgage staff by 2,123 in Q3. ""Aurora Bank"":http://www.aurorabankfsb.com/ took second-to-last place, cutting 922 jobs, while ""Bank of America"":https://www.bankofamerica.com/ held the third-worst position with approximately 700 fewer mortgage staff.
Those losses were offset by growth at ""Quicken Loans Inc."":http://www.quickenloans.com/ (which expanded its mortgage staff by 2,500), ""Wells Fargo & Co."":https://www.wellsfargo.com/ (which added 2,043 positions), and ""Nationstar Mortgage LLC"":https://www.nationstarmtg.com/ (which saw a net gain of 600 jobs).
State-by-state, Michigan showed the most mortgage employment growth, aided mostly by additions to Quicken's staff in Detroit. The state reported 1,442 new positions in Q3--and no layoffs.
The Great Lakes State was followed in employment growth by Iowa (which reported an increase of 1,229) and Texas (which saw 609 new mortgage jobs).
The bottom-ranked states in Q3 included California (which was down 528 jobs), Nebraska (down 450 jobs), and Indiana (down 400 jobs).