COVID-19: Household Debt During the Pandemic
COVID-19: Household Debt During the Pandemic Updated May 6, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R46578 SUMMARY R46578 COVID-19: Household Debt During the May 6, 2021 Pandemic Cheryl R. Cooper, The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large and persistent economic impact across the United Coordinator States. Fear of infection, social distancing, and stay-at-home orders prompted business closures Analyst in Financial and a severe decline in demand for travel, accommodations, restaurants, and entertainment, Economics among other industries. This led to a significant reduction in employment and a loss of income in many U.S. households. Unemployment rose rapidly to a peak at 14.7% in April 2020 and has Maura Mullins since fallen to 6.0% in March 2021. Consequently, many Americans have lost income and faced Senior Research Librarian financial hardship. Survey results suggest that since March 2020, about half of all U.S. adults live in a household that has lost some employment income. Lida R. Weinstock During 2020, different types of consumer debt—consisting of mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, Analyst in Macroeconomic and student loans—have exhibited different patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, Policy credit card balances declined sharply in the second quarter by about $76 billion, the largest quarterly decline on record. Mortgage debt increased, and other household debt remained relatively flat. In addition, during 2020, the percentage of delinquent loans declined in most consumer debt markets. This pattern differs greatly from that of past recessions, such as the 2007-2009 Great Recession. Some of this decline is due to consumers entering into loan forbearance agreements when they are having trouble repaying their loans.
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