This is the first in a series of posts on consumer debt. The above charts show two views of consumer credit in the U.S. The first chart is a view of consumer credit in March 1969, and the second chart is a view of consumer credit in March 2009. Two observations: 1) consumer credit has greatly expanded in the past 40 years (big surprise), and 2) Revolving credit (credit card debt) has grown from almost nothing to over a third of consumer credit now.
Notes:
I tried to make the two charts to scale. PieR2 calculation (it was a little difficult to measure on my screen, but I think it is pretty close).
Revolving credit is basically credit card debt, and non-revolving credit is debt from things like autos, boats, student loans. All data is seasonally adjusted.
Please note that consumer credit does not include mortgage debt.
Data Source:
U.S. Federal Reserve. G.19.
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It would be interesting to see a version of these charts with per capita numbers.
Comment by slk23 — May 25, 2009 @ 9:15 am
Thanks for the comment. I agree. I had a similar thought and have some charts set to come out later this week that show consumer credit on a per household basis. I will try to get one out on a per capita basis too.
Comment by admin — May 25, 2009 @ 4:40 pm