US Q4 credit card delinquencies at new high
WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - The number of past-due U.S. credit card accounts jumped to a record high in the fourth quarter of 2003 as Americans searching for work struggled to pay their bills.
Credit card delinquencies rose to a seasonally adjusted 4.43 percent of all accounts in the three-month period from 4.09 percent in the third quarter, which had also been a record, the American Bankers Association said on Tuesday.
Weak job creation and rising energy costs put Americans without work under greater financial stress, ABA Chief Economist James Chessen said.
"The improving economy has not yet touched all individuals, particularly those who continue to look for work and may be relying on credit cards to meet their daily living expenses," he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, delinquencies of other types of consumer loans fell. A composite of installment loans, including home equity and auto loans, fell to its lowest level since 1995.
A lack of new jobs despite signs of a relatively strong economy has become a major issue in campaigning for November presidential elections, with opposition Democrats saying President George W. Bush's administration has done too little to create employment and to keep jobs from being moved to other countries where labor costs less.
The number of Americans filing for initial jobless benefits dropped to the lowest level in more than three years in the week ending March 13. But U.S. employers added a paltry 21,000 new workers to their payrolls in February, well below expectations of analysts.
The Bush administration released a forecast early in February that looked for average job growth of about 300,000 new jobs a month this year, which many economists have said may have been over-optimistic.
Many economists believe that although businesses have been able to boost output without hiring new workers, they will soon begin adding new jobs. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said last month he saw signs the labor market is improving.
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