Consumers’ credit card debt rises again on higher spending

Recent data shows that consumers are once again spending more money on their credit cards, leading to higher debt levels, the likes of which haven't been seen since the recession ended.

The latest 2011 Credit Card Debt Study from the consumer comparison site CardHub.com revealed that consumers added $18.4 billion in credit card debt during the second quarter, up 66 percent from the same period in the previous year, and 368 percent more than 2009's second quarter, according to a report from Daily Finance. Americans are expected to end the year with $54 billion more owed on their credit cards than they started with, potentially leading to renewed credit problems.

"A debt increase of $18.4 billion during a single quarter is mind boggling, especially when you consider that this increase is 368% higher than what we witnessed in the same quarter two years ago," says Odysseas Papadimitriou, CEO of CardHub.com, told the site.

Many consumers have been forced to begin using their credit cards more often in the last few months as a result of rising prices for necessities coupled with stagnant wages and unemployment figures.