According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in the first quarter of 2023 total consumer debt rose to an all time high, as mortgage balances, student loans, and auto loans all swelled, taking the debt to a record level.

Total consumer debt reached $17 trillion for the first time ever in the first quarter of 2023 according to data released by the New York Fed. This was a $148 billion increase over the previous quarter, and a $1.2 trillion increase over the level one year prior.

The increase was attributed to a $121 billion increase in mortgage balances in the US, which took total mortgage debt to more than $12 trillion. This marked the largest growth in any category.

Auto loans were up by $10 billion over the previous quarter, bringing their total to $1.56 trillion. Student loans increased to $1.6 trillion. Credit card debt remained unchanged, at $986 billion.

As household debt is rising, federal official continue to raise interest rates in the course of their battle to contain inflation. Just this month, the Federal Reserve hiked interest rates once again by 0.2 percentage points, in spite of fears of a recession and a looming bank crisis, bringing the Fed funds rate into a range of 5 to 5.25 percent. It was the tenth interest rate hike in a row since the Fed began raising rates last March.

Despite the Fed’s attempts to cool the economy using interest rate hikes, the latest US jobs report shows that the economy is not cooling as quickly as the Fed would like it to. The US added 236,000 jobs in April, beating estimates and lowering the unemployment rate to 3.5 percent, according to Labor Department data.

Annual wage growth was down to 4.2 percent, from 4.6 percent, a welcome sign, as the Fed has been battling to lower wages to reduce consumer price increases.