Good credit is hard to find.

A new report from credit reporting agency FICO says that one in four Americans have subprime credit.

As reported on by the AP, 43 million Americans have a credit score below 600. While the number spiked some in the early parts of the recent recession, these new numbers are at historic highs.

When a credit score dips below 600 credit becomes difficult to obtain. This means that one in four Americans may face higher interest rates or downright refusal if they try to get a credit card, car loan or home mortgage.

So what’s driving this downward trend? Unemployment, for one, reports, the LA Times. A high national unemployment rate of 9.5 percent has turned many two-income houses into one-income houses.

When an income is lost, bills have to be prioritized, and sometimes some of those bills don’t get paid. Late and unpaid bills have a negative impact on your credit score.

Of course, the credit card bill affects scores as well. Although average American credit card debt is falling slightly, many people are unable to pay their bills, carrying large balances or simply having their credit card debt written off. These actions may also negatively affect one’s credit score.

Foreclosures also affect a credit score. A mortgage foreclosure can drop a credit score as much as 150 points. Even if you started with a strong credit score, that foreclosure could zap it, and it could be a very long time before you can get your once-great score back to its former glory.

Similarly, a Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing will impact credit that is already hurting, and those rates continue set new records each month.

So if your credit score is one that has dropped, what does that mean?

First, it means that a good rate on a loan is going to be pretty hard to find. NPR reports that these subprime borrowers are going to be “flat-out denied” or they will only be taken on at “punishing” interest rates. Which of course means that those people who can least afford those high interest rates are the people who will be forced to take them on.

It also means that economic recovery for the country as a whole will be slow in coming. Credit often drives spending, and if it’s hard to come by then consumer spending may stay frigid, stalling an economic jumpstart.