In a stat that most likely will surprise few economists, credit card delinquencies are increasing in the U.S. -- a sign that the housing sector slump that has displaced thousands of employees is beginning to exact a toll on revolving credit accounts, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported Friday.

The number of credit card accounts at least 60 days delinquent or that had gone into default increased to 7.6% in December 2007, up from 6.4% in December 2006, according to research compiled by RiskMetrics Group, the Journal reported. Further, Americans had $944 billion in total revolving debt in December 2007, which amounts to a seasonally adjusted annual increase of 2.7%, well below the seasonally adjusted growth rates of 13.7% and 11.1% for November 2007 and October 2007, respectively.

Another bubble: credit cards

Economist Glen Langan told BloggingStocks Friday the credit card sector, like the housing sector, is correcting from an unprecedented -- and unsustainable -- growth period.
"Banks and credit card issuers who were flush with low-interest money and other reserves increased their issuance of credit cards to near ridiculous levels, with predictable results," Langan said. "It led to a marked increase in both adults with credit cards and the number of credit cards per person. Terms became very lax, and now we're seeing the consequences, a rise in delinquencies and defaults."

Further, Langan said he expects consumer spending to be constrained by both credit card defaults and consumer behavior change (or economizing ) during the U.S. economy's doldrums. "That constrained consumer spending is the second major headwind after the housing sector's recession, and will decrease U.S. GDP by at least 1.0-1.5% in 2008," Langan added. "We're also likely to see a delayed resumption of trend consumer spending, which will serve to push-out the start of the economic recovery by at least three or four months, about a quarter."