 TITLE: Consumer Finances Then and Now: The Great Recession vs. 2020 CONTENT: Consumers May Be Better Poised for Current Financial Crisis\n-----------------------------------------------------------\nWhile it's impossible to predict how consumers will continue to manage the current economic downturn, the recession's early months indicate a focus on their personal finances.\nAcross nearly all indicators—including total debt, utilization, credit score and delinquency—consumers improved their debt and credit positions more in the first three months of the current recession than during the most recent downturn. In the case of total average debt, consumers in 2020 were able to limit the growth of their overall debt balance, while consumers during the early months of the Great Recession saw balances spike by 4%.\nMuch of this may be attributable to the passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion stimulus law that issued a one-time $1,200 payment to many Americans and widely expanded unemployment benefits.\nThough the current recession's initial three months of consumer debt and credit data paint a positive picture of consumer finances, unemployment has spiked to historic highs in 2020. As income declines and stimulus aid continues to lapse, consumers' finances may change as people seek ways to cover their expenses.\nAs Americans continue to manage the effects of the pandemic, the data included in our analysis will continue to evolve. The information included here represents only a momentary snapshot of consumer finances. As time goes on—especially as certain economic stimulus and relief measures expire—these trends may change. We will continue to publish additional insights as newer data becomes available.\n**Note**: The data attributes and sample sizes for this research may not exactly match other Experian analyses, and thus a slight variance in some statistics may exist. END