Slow job growth and declining home prices are causing financial problems for more Americans, who are falling behind on consumer debt, including home-equity loans, at the highest rate since 2001, the American Bankers Association said this week.

Credit counselors said consumers were paying the price for reckless attitudes about debt fostered by years of easy credit, particularly in the mortgage market.

During the housing boom, home-equity loans gave many consumers a ready source of cash as the value of their property shot up. But with prices declining – quite sharply in San Diego and other California regions – borrowers have less equity available to cash out by selling their houses or refinancing their home-equity loans.