The number of Americans struggling under the weight of owing money has significantly increased in the past two years, with an estimated 56 million credit cardholders in the country having been in debt for at least a year, according to a new survey by Bankrate shared with Newsweek.
The New York-based consumer financial services company found that nearly half of credit cardholders (49 percent) carry a balance month to month, up from 39 percent in 2021. More than half of those in debt (58 percent, the equivalent of 56 million people) have been in debt for at least a year, up from 50 percent in 2021. While inflation has considerably gone down last year after reaching a 40-year high of 9.1 percent in June 2022, Americans are still suffering from a high interest rate environment, while many have burned their savings during the pandemic. Last year, Newsweek reported that a majority of 55 percent of Americans were then worried about repaying their debt, with the average U.S. credit card debt having reached the $1 trillion mark.
Despite the progress recorded by the resilient U.S. economy, with the Federal Reserve declaring last year that it would have soon shifted towards cutting rate, the situation hasn't much improved for many Americans.
The number of Americans struggling under the weight of owing money has significantly increased in the past two years, with an estimated 56 million credit cardholders in the country having been in debt for at least a year, according to a new surve
