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(The Center Square) – With unemployment exceeding 14% in Illinois during the pandemic, a new study shows the Illinois are one of the most needy in the country.
The personal finance site WalletHub ranked Illinois residents third nationally based on internal credit report data and the increase in Google search for three loan-related terms.
Analyst Jill Gonzalez said that greater interest in getting a loan indicates more and more people in the state are struggling to make ends meet. It also implies that there might be more pressure on state aid programs in the near future, and the state might experience a deeper recession than others.
“We research all personal loans, as well as payday loans and home equity loans, and Illinois is currently ranked number one in terms of interest in home equity loan research,” Gonzalez said.
The people of Illinois looking for payday loans are a wake-up call in Gonzalez’s mind.
“The search for payday loans is always a concern. Payday loans are an extremely expensive lending option because they charge exorbitant interest rates and give very little time to pay back the money, ”she said.
Gonzalez expects interest on personal loans to increase after federal unemployment benefits expire.
“We’ve seen it stabilize over the last couple of months when people are unemployed and have these extra benefits,” Gonzalez said. “I think we’ll see it rise again at the end of the month when the benefits run out.”
New York led the country in loan searches, while Vermont ranked last.
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