Credit card debt surprisingly high at nearly $1 trillion in first quarter

U.S. credit card debt is approaching the historic $1 trillion mark as total household debt notched a record high in the first quarter of this year.

Total credit card debt stood at $986 billion in the first quarter, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported Monday, more than 17% higher than a year ago despite typically tumbling in the first quarter — the largest year-over-year increase in the 20-year history of the dataset. The country’s total household debt balance crossed the $17 trillion mark for the first time in history.

In recent years, the country’s overall credit card balance has typically fallen about 2% from the fourth quarter to the first quarter, which is why debt remaining flat at $986 billion in the first quarter is notable, New York Fed researchers said during a Monday morning call with reporters. The first quarter marked the first time that balances didn’t decrease during that period since the New York Fed began tracking the figures in 2003. The researchers said that if the data were seasonally adjusted, they might have shown an increase.

That is because people usually pay back the loans that they took out during the holiday season during the first quarter, which runs from January through March. The numbers show that consumers are having a tougher time paying those off in the first three months than in past seasons.