Unemployed hardest hit by restrictive credit card lending

Consumers who have good credit scores are being rewarded with some of the best offers industry experts have seen in awhile. On the other hand, those struggling through unemployment are being locked out of the credit system completely.

Even as credit card rates, rewards, and introductory APR offerings improved in recent months, many consumers have been unable to obtain any lines of credit at all, according to a report from the Christian Science Monitor. Unemployed Americans have been hardest hit by these recent restrictive lending practices.

Many consumers, especially those who no longer receive unemployment insurance payments, have been completely flushed from the credit system. In addition, the report said that while unemployment rates have held steady at around 9.6 percent many consider the actual number of jobless Americans to be closer to 17 percent.

Meanwhile, several lenders have reported significant drops in the amount of defaulted credit card debt they've written off in recent months, though some say this may be a sign that consumers are simply unable to get new credit card accounts, rather than overall improved credit health.