Feb 11, 2022 - Economy
Debt management held steady in 2021 despite inflation
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
High demand for high-ticket items that grew even costlier with inflation drove up U.S. household debt by $1 trillion last year. At the same time, debt management held steady.
Why it matters: The pandemic's lockdowns and government aid provided consumers a chance to pay down more of what they borrowed, and to even bolster their savings.
State of play: Roughly 94,000 people had a bankruptcy notation added to their credit reports during the last three months of last year, data from the New York Fed shows.
- That’s the lowest since 1999, when the data series began.
- The share of borrowers with a third-party collection account also reached a new historic low, while the average balance of those who had collections accounts fell sharply from $1,427 to $1,234.
