Mortgage Jobs Manage Second Consecutive Gain: Report

Mortgage employment expanded by more than 700 jobs during the first quarter, an industry report released Monday showed.

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Lenders, banks, and service providers terminated more than 1,500 mortgage-related employees during the first three months of this year, according to an index tracked by ""_MortgageDaily.com_"":http://www.mortgagedaily.com. But the sector also added more than 2,200 new positions during the period.

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It was the second consecutive quarter that mortgage jobs improved, based on recent mortgage layoffs, hirings, and company closings tracked by the trade publication. The previous quarter, the industry added a net of 2,854 jobs.

""JPMorgan Chase & Co."":http://www.jpmorganchase.com hired 440 mortgage professionals from January through March of 2010, the most of all mortgage lenders. Also making a big contribution to the first-quarter growth were the ""FDIC"":http://www.fdic.gov and ""Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America"":http://www.naca.com, _MortgageDaily_ reported.

""GMAC"":http://www.gmacfs.com continues to trim its mortgage operations. The company cut nearly 500 jobs in that area in Q1. A contraction of more than 300 jobs at ""Wells Fargo & Co."":http://www.wellsfargo.com ranked it second on the layoff list. Fiserv was in the third slot with nearly 300 job cuts.

Illinois saw over 300 mortgage layoffs, the highest of any state, the trade paper said. California was close behind with nearly 300, while North Carolina and Ohio each reduced their mortgage workforces by more than 150.

However, North Carolina also saw in excess of 300 new hirings -- more than any of its peers, the index showed. Florida added 300 mortgage positions, and Michigan added 200.