A strong employment report has helped send mortgage rates higher. Freddie Mac’s Feb. 19 Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 7 basis points from last week’s 3.69 percent to 3.76 percent. In the third week of February 2014 the 30-year fixed averaged 4.33 percent.

The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage stood at 3.05 percent on Feb. 19, down 6 basis points from Feb. 12, when it averaged 2.99 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year fixed averaged 3.35 percent.