Newly Employed Receiving Less Money To Keep Up With Mounting Bills Causing Consumers To Seek Ways To Cope Including Bankruptcy And Alternatives

A disturbing U.S. Labor Department report suggests that many workers who have been lucky enough to find jobs in this sluggish economy have had to take major pay cuts in order to do so. Even worse, nearly half of the workers laid off between early 2009 and late 2011 have yet to find jobs.

According to the report, 56 percent of these laid-off workers have been able to find work. However, over half of them have had to stomach lower wages at their new jobs.

For some, the transition has been particularly difficult: Over 30 percent of these workers have taken pay cuts of at least 20 percent.

These figures don't even tell the whole story as the Labor Department didn't include statistics for people who were unable to find full-time jobs. The part-time jobs that many have taken on to make ends meet during the past few years may pay as little as $7.25 per hour, which is the current federal minimum wage.

Even as real incomes have declined since the start of the recent recession, the cost of food, clothing and fuel has continued to rise. As a result, millions of hard-working Americans have been forced to take drastic steps to maintain their standards of living.

Many households now routinely run high balances on their credit cards in order to replace their disappearing income streams. This is unwise in the best of times.

Millions of consumers who use credit cards to pay for household necessities are well behind on their bills. Many dread opening correspondence from their credit card issuers and avoid checking their outstanding balances online. Some are struggling just to make the minimum payment on their monthly statements.

Each year, thousands of American families reach the breaking point. Saddled with debt loads that grow each day, they become unable to keep up with their bills and begin missing their monthly payments.

The consequences of missing a credit card payment are devastating. In response to just one missed payment, credit card issuers often impose late fees and penalty interest rates that can approach 30 percent.

These measures create a spiral of debt that quickly becomes unsustainable. Customers who previously could barely afford to pay their bills on time can't possibly accommodate hundreds or thousands of dollars' worth of new charges on their accounts.

In the past few years, countless American families faced with declining incomes, mounting debt and worsening credit have taken the drastic step of declaring bankruptcy (http://www.nationaldebtrelief.com/debtresources/bankruptcy/). Though most financial professionals recommend personal bankruptcy only as a last resort, the poor economy appears to present few alternatives.

The consequences of declaring bankruptcy can be devastating. Unsecured creditors like credit card companies rarely recoup their investments in customers who complete the process successfully, making them less likely to lend to anyone with a bankruptcy declaration in their past.

Fortunately, bankruptcy isn't the only debt relief option out there. National Debt Relief's recommended debt settlement programs offer many of the advantages of the process with few of its drawbacks.

National Debt Relief (http://www.nationaldebtrelief.com/aboutus/) has helped thousands of struggling families work their way out of debt and continues to grow its business across the country. Unlike bankruptcy, debt settlement doesn't demand the involvement of a lawyer and won't leave a permanent blemish on its participants' credit records. Debt settlement also may cost less than other debt relief alternatives.