Employment is strong; we can all agree on that—or can we? I suppose it depends on whom you ask. If you ask the average person, they’re going to say yes. If you ask someone in the mortgage industry, they might have to force a fake smile.
It is predictable: Mortgage companies add staff when refinancing and sales are high (typically when interest rates are low and going lower), then lay off workers after about a six-month decline (owners are resistant to absorb the cost of layoffs until they feel that the drop in demand is going to stick). In the last few months, we’ve seen hiring weakness in the mortgage industry.