Mortgage jobs recorded small seasonal gain despite layoffs

Abstract

Payrolls are still larger than a year ago, when jobs totaled 421,600. Overall employment grew more slowly in May with the addition of 390,000 jobs. Despite the slowing, job numbers are considered still strong enough to support a housing market that's been softening a little due to an uptick in supply. Even with the increase in mortgage financing costs seen to date and the supply of homes growing, the balance of the market still hasn't tipped entirely toward buyers, according to Fratantoni. "Although housing inventory is beginning to increase, demand continues to exceed supply even as mortgage rates have spiked," Fratantoni said. Residential construction jobs, including specialty contractors, rose by 16,700 in May."Residential construction employment currently exceeds its level in February 2020," said Jing Fu, director of forecasting and analysis at the National Association of Home Builders, in a report issued Friday. While the job numbers show housing demand generally grew as new supply did in the past month, employment didn't increase across the board.