WASHINGTON — Consumer borrowing fell again in May, more evidence that Americans remain jittery over their finances and the durability of the economic recovery.
The Federal Reserve said Thursday that borrowing dropped by $9.1 billion in May. It also said borrowing declined by $14.9 billion in April, revising an initial estimate that showed a gain of $995 million for the month.
Consumer borrowing has fallen in 15 of the past 16 months as households have struggled with uncertain job prospects and battered finances after a deep recession.
In May, consumers borrowed less on their credit cards and took out fewer auto loans. Credit-card borrowing has fallen for 20 straight months.
Many consumers, confronted by a deep recession and a weak job market, have tried to get their household finances in better shape by reducing their debt levels. In addition, banks during the recession imposed tighter lending standards in an effort to cope with their rising levels of bad loans.
Analysts said the significant downward revision to April borrowing and May’s decline show that consumers remain leery about taking on new debt.
“There is simply no way to spin this data, nor the past few months, as anything other than a confirmation that the consumer has not come roaring back,” said Dan Greenhaus, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak in New York. “The consumer remains quite stressed … with income growth relatively muted and labor improvements few and far between.”
