"Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 166,000 in October, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.7 percent.  Job gains continued in professional and business services, food services, and health care.  Manufacturing employment continued to decline, while construction employment was little changed over the month."

This according to Philip L. Rones Acting Commissioner Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here are some excerpts of his report:

"Construction employment was little changed in October.  Over the month, a job gain in nonresidential specialty trade contracting was offset by losses in the residential components of construction.  Construction employment has fallen by 124,000 since its peak in September 2006, driven by losses in residential construction.

Among other housing-related industries, employment continued its downward trend in October in credit intermediation--the component of the financial activities sector that includes mortgage lending and related activities.  Employment in credit intermediation has fallen by 56,000 since its peak in February. Within retail trade, building supply stores lost 7,000 jobs in October; employment in the industry declined by 47,000 over the
year."

Interesting glimpse into our economy. We appear to be holding ground as a nation, despite the losses in Building/Real Estate/Mortgage related businesses.

We are currently seeing the stock market rebound after yesterday's losses. This of course, is having an impact on the Bond Market. We are seeing a slight drop in the value of Mortgage Backed Securities, which means that we are seeing a decrease in the rate improvement that we gained yesterday. It is still early however and a lot can happen.

Rates should hold steady today with Conforming 30 year fixed at around 6% at par.

ADDENDUM: We're currently seeing a rally on Bonds which should lead to modest improvements over yesterday's rate sheets.

Information for this post provided by http://www.bls.gov/ and http://www.mortgagemarketguide.com/

Larry Morris is a loan Officer with Equipoint Financial Network in Newberg, Oregon. He specializes in relocations and Sherwood, Oregon neighborhoods and Yamhill County. He is a Board Member of the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce.He can be reached at larry.morris@equipoint.com. His website is www.PDX-Mortgage.com. This material is copy protected 2007 by Larry Morris, Mortgage News that Matters. All Rights Reserved His opinions do not necessarily represent the views of Equipoint Financial Network.

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