Credit cards companies in the United States say that during the month of October defaults on credit cards were down yet the news is not all good as delinquencies (late payments) were up.
Earlier this year there was a drop in delinquencies that can be attributed to the lower defaults, but consequently, the increase in delinquencies points to an increase in defaults later on in the year.
Not surprisingly, delinquencies and defaults on credit cards both are closely related to unemployment, which is hovering at around 10%.