Is Student Debt Weighing on Consumer Spending?Outstanding student debt in the U.S. hit $1.5 trillion last year.

[Collection]Student debt is ballooning by the day, but just how much is it weighing on consumer spending? Not much, according to official data, which showed that a long-awaited consumer spending recovery powered the U.S. economy in 2018. Helped by an unemployment rate hovering at a 49-year low, consumer spending jumped 3.6 percent in the third quarter of last year, boosting the economy to the tune of 3.5 percent. This trend looks to have held strong throughout the holiday period, with record online spending on Black Friday and Cyber Monday and retailers reporting a robust Christmas season. But the buoyant spending figures come despite some shocking statistics lurking in the background. Namely, outstanding student debt reached $1.5 trillion for the first time last year, ballooning from around $600 billion a decade ago and now only second to mortgage debt. And it’s not just an issue for Millennials, who are being hit by increasing educational costs, as some Baby Boomers are also carrying massive debt on their backs as they step in to help their children and grandchildren pay for college. While the average college student now leaves campus with $30,000 of debt and a bachelor’s degree — which rises to $43,354 if they go on for a master’s

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