US Consumer Debt Surpasses $17 Trillion , for First Time Ever.<br />On May 15, the Federal Reserve Bank of <br />New York revealed that Americans' debt <br />hit an all-time high in Q1 2023.<br />Consumer debt rose $148 billion from Q4 2022 <br />and $1.2 trillion since last year, reports 'The Hill.'.<br />Mortgages represented the most substantial increase in debt, with a $121 billion climb in balances.<br />Total U.S. mortgage debt <br />now sits at over $12 trillion.<br />Auto loans rose $10 billion <br />last quarter, reaching $1.56 trillion.<br />Student loan debt hit $1.6 trillion.<br />Credit card debt stayed flat at $986 billion.<br />The Federal Reserve continues to implement rate hikes in an attempt to fight inflation.<br />It recently announced its 10th straight increase since March to bring rates to between 5% and 5.25%.<br />However, the latest jobs report showed that 236,000 jobs were added in April, indicating that the economy isn't cooling as quickly as anticipated.
