Mortgage delinquencies have climbed in the U.S. counties whose employment rates were hardest-hit by the… The year-and-a-half-long spell of low oil prices is making it hard for households to pay the bills in energy-producing regions, an ominous localized trend that comes as the rest of the country returns to pre-recession levels of health. Delinquencies on auto loans have spiked in the U.S. counties that had the highest employment in the oil-and-gas industry, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s quarterly report on household debt and credit. Mortgage delinquencies have also climbed, though not as dramatically. Tuesday’s report underscores that although the decline in oil prices has saved many Americans money at the pump, it has caused significant economic fallout for those who were working in the energy industry during the boom. So far, the increase in delinquencies and deterioration of credit appears to be concentrated only within […]