The US Economy post the pandemic is anything but a miracle as economic activity keeps chugging along. Data on Friday showed the US workforce expanded in a significant fashion last month.

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However, there's a big problem just below the surface, and it's only getting bigger: debt. Outstanding household debt in the United States reached a new high in December. This is due to record-high growth in credit.

Federal Reserve figures issued on Friday showed a total credit increase of 40.8 billion dollars last month. That number — which does not account for inflation — surpassed all expectations in a Bloomberg poll.

US household debt surges

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Last month saw a 22.9 billion dollar increase in outstanding revolving debt, including credit card debt. That more than makes up for November's decrease. There was a record-breaking 18 billion dollar increase in non-revolving credit, which includes loans for things like vehicles and school tuition.

Additionally, the delinquency rate has increased. About 1.8 per cent of accounts were overdue, and 3.5 per cent of card balances were 30 days or more past the due date.

Both those delinquency figures are more than double the post-pandemic lows in 2021. This comes even as the jobs figures were better than what most analysts had feared. The data, for now, cements bet the fed will be on an extended pause until the second half of 2025. January's job creation numbers were excellent.

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However, ongoing worries about the quality of jobs being added still linger. Analysts call out that job creation is not in the traditional economic growth engine sectors but more part-time and low-paying jobs.

(With inputs from the agencies)