pmuolo@imfpubs.com

Mortgage banking firms continued to trim their employee payrolls this spring, laying off 600 workers in April while brokerage shops added 100 full-timers, according to figures compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At April 30, mortgage bankers employed 184,400, off 16,700 positions from a year ago. Loan brokers boasted a headcount of 86,100 compared to 89,600 a year ago, a difference of 3,500 workers.

The new figures, which trail the national employment numbers by a month, come on the heels of an analysis by Inside Mortgage Finance that loan brokers in the first quarter increased their origination market share to 19.1% from 17.5% in 4Q23.

The big question facing the industry is whether the broker gains will continue as mortgage funders continue to cut costs in an attempt to improve origination profitability.