While student loan payments have been put off temporarily, once they resume in the fall, the number of students opting simply not to pay them is expected to rise, considering the dismal state of the job market, according to CNBC. Congress allowed for forbearance under the CARES Act, said CNBC, assuming that the economy would be in better shape by the time payments would resume on Oct. 1. But given recent market declines, such a recovery is looking increasingly unlikely. Already, 23 percent of people aged 20-24 are unemployed, far higher than the national average. Absent further measures, said CNBC, it is likely that students will wind up being delinquent on loans they cannot pay.

The New York Federal Reserve, in its most recent debt report, noted that outstanding student debt stood at $1.54 trillion in the first quarter of this year, an increase of $27 billion from Q4 2019. Approximately 10.8 percent of aggregate student loan debt was more than 90 days delinquent or in default in Q1 2020, a small decline from 11.1 percent in the previous quarter. The New York Fed noted, however, that the data on about half these loans are being skewed by the loan forbearance period, which takes them out of the repayment cycle. The report said this "implies that among loans in the repayment cycle delinquency rates are roughly twice as high."