The household debt balance in the United States reached a new all-time high of $13.3 trillion in the second quarter of 2018, according to the latest report from the Center for Microeconomic Data of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. US household debt has risen continuously since 2013, now constituting 65 percent of US GDP and exceeding the 2008 pre-crisis level by nearly $475 billion.
US household debt is indisputably large in absolute terms, now exceeding the GDP China, the world's second-largest economy. Yet, relative to the size of the US economy, household debt is less remarkable than it is for other economies. Australia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, and the United Kingdom all have higher levels of household debt as a share of GDP than the US.
On a per capita basis, US household debt has also not yet reached the level of 2008 when household debt exceeded GDP per capita. This suggests that the number of new debt accounts increased more aggressively than did the origination volume.
Mortgage balances also remain below their previous peak despite robust growth while auto loans reached a record value of $1.2 trillion, 74 percent higher than the 2010 level. US car sale figures also confirm an uptick in car purchases in the US, aided by historically low interest rates on auto loans.
(02 February 2021) Based on the original paper by Dr. David L. Blond, Principle Researcher and President, QuERI-International. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Knoema Holdings and its Executive Board. In November 2020, US voters went to the ballot box and sent a Democrat back into the White House to stare down a federal deficit that grew under President Trump from $19 trillion in January 2016 to more than $27 trillion the day that Joe Biden was inaugurated. As you can imagine, the deficit hawks are out in force once again....
(07 October 2021) At the end of June of 2021, the U.S. government hit the public debt ceiling of $28.4 trillion. According to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's estimates, under the existing debt limit the U.S. government will have to stop paying on its obligations such as social security programs, salaries and interest payments on treasury securities on October 18. Prolonged debates and lack of consensus in the U.S. Congress on the debt limit led to a stock market decline through September, on the expectation that government spending cuts to sustain the debt level amid high...
Housing represents a growing source of budgetary pressure for Americans, and the data suggests American's desire for space is at least partially to blame. In 2017, housing represented 33 percent of total US household expenditures, with rent and mortgage—as compared to other household expenses like furnishings and utilities—making up about 60 percent of the household budget, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Renters have been particularly hard hit, with more than 40 percent spending 35 percent or more of their income on housing. While only about 20 percent of mortgage...
(January 19, 2019) Student loans in the United States represent the second largest type of household debt after home mortgages and were not only impervious to the 2009 recession, but are steadily rising along with total US household debt. As of the third quarter of 2018, student debt outstanding expanded by 2.6 percent, reaching a peak of $1.44 trillion, which is higher than total US auto loans and credit card debt. Total student loan debt has more than doubled since 2009 and grown six-fold over the last 15 years. The cumulative value of student loans in default has also increased,...
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