Rising joblessness pushes home foreclosure rate higher

Though the U.S. economy appears on the mend, the nation's increasing jobless rate is pushing mortgage delinquency rates ever higher, leading to a greater number of bankruptcies and foreclosures, newly compiled credit bureau data showed Monday.

As of last month, 7.58 percent of U.S. homeowners were at least 30 days late on their mortgages, up from 7.32 percent in July, according to data supplied to the Reuters news agency by Equifax (EFX). August marked the fourth straight month of rising delinquencies, which are gaining at an increasing pace, the data showed.