Scarcity of jobs puts more at risk of foreclosure

WASHINGTON — One in 10 American households with a mortgage is at risk of losing its home, and the foreclosure crisis could worsen if jobs remain scarce.

About 9.9 percent of homeowners had missed at least one mortgage payment as of June 30, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. That number, adjusted for seasonal factors, was barely down from a record-high of more than 10 percent as of April 30.

The Labor Department said requests for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week. The drop in first-time claims to a seasonally adjusted 473,000 was the first decline in a month and a hopeful sign after a raft of dismal economic reports.

Still, unemployment claims remain much higher than they would be in a healthy economy. Employers are reluctant to hire as economic growth appears to be slowing.

The number of Americans who are missing payments and falling into foreclosure has followed the upward trend in unemployment. The jobless rate has remained near double digits all year.

"Ultimately, the housing story, whether it is delinquencies, homes sales or housing starts, is an employment story," Jay Brinkmann, the Mortgage Bankers Association's top economist, said in a statement. "Only when we see a consistent increase in employment will we see an increase in sales and starts, and a sustained improvement in the delinquency numbers."

More than 2.3 million homes have been repossessed by lenders since the recession began in December 2007, according to foreclosure listing service RealtyTrac Inc. Economists expect the number of foreclosures to grow well into next year.

Besides forcing people from their homes, foreclosures and distressed home sales have pressured home values and crippled the broader housing industry. They have made it difficult for homebuilders to compete with the depressed prices and discouraged potential sellers from putting homes on the market.

The housing market is struggling even as mortgage rates fell to the lowest level in decades for the ninth time in 10 weeks. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said the average rate for a 30-year fixed loan fell to 4.36 percent this week.

Rates have fallen since the spring as investors, spooked by a slowing economy, shifted money into the safety of Treasury bonds. That has lowered the yields on long-term Treasurys. Mortgage rates tend to track those yields.