Consumer credit card debt in the United States has exceeded $1 trillion for the first time, according to a recent study by WalletHub. The average U.S. household owes $8,600 on credit cards. Florida is in the top 5 states with the highest credit card debt burden, according to CreditCards.com.
Financial experts attribute this increase to consumer confidence. In the fourth quarter of 2017 alone, consumers added $67.6 billion while the charge-off rate remained at historic lows. Charge-off rate refers to the percentage of credit card users whose unpaid balances credit card companies are unable to collect.
Household indebtedness in the fourth-quarter rose to $13.15 trillion from $12.96 trillion in the third quarter, an increase of 1.5 percent. Mortgages accounted for the largest component of household debt, according to a quarterly report published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
In addition, the average credit score for U.S. consumers has declined. It is now 675, just four points lower than the average in 2007, according to consumer credit reporting agency Experian.
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