Americans are finding it harder and harder to pay off their debt
CNN
Americans are having a harder time managing rising debt burdens and in some cases haven’t been this overextended since the aftermath of the Great Recession.
Americans are having a harder time managing rising debt burdens and in some cases haven’t been this overextended since the aftermath of the Great Recession. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Thursday released its latest comprehensive look at credit conditions for American households in major categories such as mortgages, auto loans, credit cards, home equity lines of credit and student loans. In the fourth quarter of last year, overall debt levels increased by 0.5% to $18.04 trillion, according to the Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit. All major loan categories tracked in the report saw increases as well. Credit card balances topped $1.2 trillion, rising 7.3% from the fourth quarter of last year and logging the smallest yearly increase since 2021. Higher levels of household debt are to be expected as they can reflect factors such as population growth, strong economic conditions, holiday-related spending and the rise of e-commerce. However, Thursday’s report also showed that Americans appear to be having more difficulty dealing with that debt — specifically for auto loans and credit cards.
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