Student Loan Defaults Rising, Study Finds

The stock market is up, unemployment is down but things aren't rosy for all Americans.

A new analysis of government data by the Consumer Federation of America found that the number of Americans in default on their student loans jumped by nearly a fifth last year.

As of the end of 2016, there were 4.2 million Federal Direct Loan borrowers in default, meaning they've not made a payment in more than 270 days. That's up 17 percent from 3.6 million at the end of 2015.

As of the end of 2016, 42.4 million Americans owed $1.3 trillion in federal student loans, according to the U.S. Department of Education data. This doesn't include borrowing through private student loans, credit cards, and home equity loans to finance the growing costs of college.