Jobs numbers dash hopes for rate cut, mortgage hiring rises

May’s slightly stronger than anticipated employment data dampened lenders’ hopes for further downward pressure on rates in the immediate future, as they added incrementally to payrolls for the spring homebuying season.

U.S. employers overall added 139,000 jobs last month, above consensus expectations for around 130,000. Unemployment remained stable at 4.2%. Nonbank mortgage employment, which is reported with more of a lag, rose to 264,700 in April from 264,000 in March. 

“These data lined up well with market expectations and are likely to keep the Fed on hold for the next meeting or two,” said Mike Fratantoni, chief economist at the Mortgage Bankers Association, in a press release commenting on the Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The latest numbers leave lenders waiting for a…