WASHINGTON, D.C. -

At least one industry expert used some positive adjectives when assembling reaction after the Federal Reserve released consumer credit data for December.

The credit data arrived after a federal forecast projecting how long it might take for the U.S. job market to rebound from the pandemic.

According to data released on Friday, the Fed said that in 2020, revolving credit decreased 11.2% and nonrevolving credit increased 3.9%, leaving total consumer credit little changed.

The Fed added that consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.7% in the fourth quarter and at a rate of 2.8% in December.

Upon seeing that information Curt Long, the chief economist and vice president of research at the National Association of Federally Insured Credit Unions offered this assessment.

“On a seasonally-adjusted basis, consumer credit growth decelerated in December but still showed a solid gain. Revolving credit contracted once again, and has now fallen in nine of the last 10 months,” Long said. “Nonrevolving credit has surpassed its pre-pandemic level as interest rates remain at all-time lows and consumers shift spending to big-ticket items.

“Lenders have tightened standards through the pandemic, but that seems to have tapered off as the latest senior loan officer survey showed more banks reported easing standards for credit cards than tightening; a modest net amount of banks also reported easing standards on auto loans,” Long continued.

“NAFCU expects modest growth in consumer credit into the summer, followed by a more robust recovery,” he went on to say.

Long added more information specific to the credit-union market, noting that its portfolio of consumer credit increased 2.6% from a year earlier, which was above the overall growth of 0.1%.

Over the past 12 months, Long indicated that credit unions’ share of the market has risen by 0.3 percentage points to 11.8%. Meanwhile, he said banks’ share fell by 2.1 percentage points to 40.3%, and financial companies’ share ticked up by 0.4 percentage points to 13.2%.

Ahead of the Fed’s latest consumer credit data being released, the Congressional Budget Office shared its economic outlook, looking ahead as far as 2031. The outlook focused on one important element to consumers being able to use credit — having viable employment.

The CBO outlook pointed out that pandemic impact was focused on particular sectors of the economy, such as travel and hospitality, and job losses were concentrated among lower-wage workers. The CBO is projecting that the economic expansion that began last year will continue. Specifically, real (inflation-adjusted) gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to return to its pre-pandemic level during the middle of this year and to surpass its potential (that is, its maximum sustainable) level in early 2025.

In CBO’s projections, the unemployment rate gradually declines through 2026, and the number of people employed returns to its pre-pandemic level in 2024.

The CBO forecast prompted a swift reaction from new Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, beginning a statement by saying the “CBO forecast is more evidence that we desperately need Congress to act on a rescue package.

“Last year, the economy shrunk more than any other since the end of World War II. With the growth that the CBO projects, it will be years before the country reaches full employment again,” Yellen continued.

“Then there are the more immediate concerns: Can we get the vaccine distributed quickly? Will people keep a roof over their heads? Will their unemployment benefits last until the end of the crisis? Will families go hungry? Will small businesses survive?

“All this is why we’re proposing the American Rescue Plan: So Americans can make it to the other side of this crisis and be met there by a strong, growing economy,” she went on to say.