19,000 mortgage jobs get the axe

Lenders like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America continue to cut a swath through their mortgage departments, handing thousands of employees their walking papers

Thousands of mortgage jobs fell under the axe in the second quarter, according to a new report.

April, May and June saw a net job loss of almost 19,000, according to a Mortgage Daily analysis. More than 20,000 positions were eliminated in the second quarter, while only about 1,600 jobs were gained. That’s up from 8,100 reported job losses in the first quarter and 3,000 in the second quarter of 2013.

Banks were responsible for all the reported job cuts. Mortgage employment at credit unions and non-banks, meanwhile, edged up slightly.

North Carolina, home of Bank of America, saw the worst job losses, according to the report. In June alone, BOA gave 540 Charlotte-based employees their walking papers. In total, BOA eliminated 3,900 positions in the second quarter. The biggest cuts, however, came from JPMorgan Chase, which eliminated 11,500 jobs.

Mortgage employees have been under the gun since last summer, after rates jumped nearly a full percentage point. The rate spike strangled the refinance boom and big lenders – many of whom had hired extra employees to meet refi demand – suddenly saw their business dry up. During all of 2013, some 31,931 mortgage jobs were cut.