As the economic downturn worsens, millions of Americans with student loans default on them. It seems that graduates leaving college are not earning the income they expected – or that needed to repay the student loans that got them their education in the first place.

There are several reasons for this trend. The first and most obvious is that people have less money. As the cost of home loans and business loans rise, and employers can pay lower salaries and still keep their employees, the simple result is that people don’t have as much discretionary income as they once had. Sometimes this dip in earning is enough to cut into hard costs like rent, utilities, internet, and, yes, loans – including student loans. A well-intentioned student can find themselves unable to pay what they promised.

A second factor has to do with the employment rate of graduates. Everyone knows that unemployment is high right now, but we often imagine that this hits the working class and leaves the rest of the people unscathed. This isn’t true, however, in fact it can be quite the opposite. College graduates face an increasingly competitive market, as employers now have their pick of more qualified graduates than ever before. At the same time less new positions are opening in most fields. That means a college degree doesn’t guarantee an income the way it used to – leaving many graduates unable to pay the bills.

As this trend continues, there is no immediate sign of it letting up.