A Visa credit card is tendered at the opening of the Superdry store in New York’s Times Square. Credit card debt has basically plateaued during the recovery, according to analysis of New York Federal Reserve data by the financial data firm Nerd Wallet.WASHINGTON – Out of a seemingly hollow recovery from the Great Recession, a more durable if still slow-growing U.S. economy has emerged.
That conclusion, one held by a growing number of economists, might surprise many people. After all, in the five years since the recession officially ended, Americans’ pay has basically stagnated. Millions remain unemployed or have abandoned their job searches. Economic growth is merely plodding along.
Yet as the economy has slowly healed, analysts say it has replaced some critical weaknesses with newfound strengths. Among the trends:
• Fewer people are piling up credit card debt or taking on risky mortgages. This should make growth more sustainable and avoid a cycle of extreme booms and busts.
• Banks are more profitable and holding additional cash to help protect against a repeat of the 2008 market meltdown.