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Will unemployment hurt my credit score?

Last Updated: October 05, 2009

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In and of itself, being unemployed will not lower your credit score. However, if, as a result of unemployment, you are unable to repay all your debts and fall behind on payments, your credit score will be affected negatively. A person's bill-paying history comprises 35% of their credit score, and late payments will lower it. Therefore, if you think that you are going to be late making debt payments as a result of unemployment, contact your creditors immediately and work out a plan before they report you to credit reporting agencies as delinquent.

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