In July, the unemployment rate in the U.S. reached 9.5 percent, according to statistics from the Labor Department. Without a steady income, many Americans have grown concerned that borrowing may hurt their credit scores. As Barrett Burns, President and Chief Executive Officer of VantageScore Solutions, notes on the Fox Business website, this is a common misconception.

Losing a job or collecting unemployment benefits doesn’t hurt a VantageScore, or most other generic scores, according to Burns. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act that went into full effect on August 22 requires lenders to look more closely at borrowers to determine if they can repay debt, but this shouldn’t scare away consumers.

Burns says that credit scores are based on only a few main factors, including how much of a credit line is used, how quickly it’s repaid, and outstanding balances. Industry analysts say that consumers who handle their credit accounts responsibly and read all of the terms and conditions of their credit lines are less likely to suffer from credit score damage

Tags: consumer debt, Credit Score, credit scores, unemployed credit card owners