The official Federal Reserve statistics for the month of April were released on Monday, showing that, while different types of consumer credit changed in different ways, the overall amount of available credit increased slightly over its April 2009 totals.

Non-revolving credit, including student loans, car loans and other closed-ended credit lines shot up by 7.1 percent in April 2010. By contrast, the report showed the revolving credit – mostly contained in credit cards and other types of re-usable credit – plummeted by a full 12 percent.

The overall gain mirrors recent positive indications that the economy is slowly recovering from the recent recession, but the volatile nature of consumer credit in the U.S. might mean that the recovery could be a lengthy and drawn-out process.

The positive news about consumer credit follows hard on the heels of similarly encouraging information about employment, as the Department of Labor recently announced that the nation’s unemployment rate had dropped to 9.7 from 9.9 percent. However, this was tempered slightly by the fact that much of the gain in jobs was concentrated in temporary Census workers.

While a slow but steady upturn in many economic indicators has painted a somewhat rosier picture of the future of the American economy, the Wall Street Journal reports that many U.S. consumers have been focusing on getting rid of debt rather than making new purchases.

This trend has slowed the re-growth of consumer spending, which is widely regarded as one of the most important bellwethers of a resurgent economy. The Journal says that "the Fed’s quarterly ‘flow of funds’ report, due out on Thursday, is likely to show the household sector’s debt level, which includes both consumer credit and mortgage loans, remained at about 20 percent of total assets in the first quarter."

The newspaper says that the recent news that consumer debt fell by $1 billion in April – the 17th consecutive month in which that figure has fallen – is in stark contrast to the behavior of this market sector over the 67-year history of the index.

Experts say, nevertheless, that the economy’s continued improvement will soon bring the looked-for growth in consumer spending.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told the G-20 summit in a letter that American consumers can no longer be depended upon to act as a "sponge" for the entire world’s exports, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Geithner’s letter, according to the Journal, said that "given the broader shifts under way in the U.S. economy towards higher domestic savings, without further progress on rebalancing global demand, global growth rates will fall short of potential," implying that a fundamental shift has taken place in the outlook of the American consumer.

The letter is aimed in part at getting major exporters of consumer goods like Japan, China, and Germany to reduce their dependence on the U.S. market as a primary consumer of their products, the newspaper says.

Experts say that, if the U.S. economy is to recover the robust health it enjoyed prior to the housing crisis and consequent recession, a boost to consumer confidence is one of two requirements, along with a decrease in unemployment.

A need to consolidate debt appears to be widespread among U.S. citizens, according to a recent Associated Press/GfK poll which found that 46 percent of respondents said that they felt either "quite a bit" or "a great deal" of stress about their personal finances.

An Associated Press story discussing the survey’s finding said there may be several reasons why consumers are not pleased with the overall state of the economy: "For starters, it doesn’t feel much like a recovery to many people. Unemployment is at 9.9 percent. Many with a job have seen paychecks shrink. A growing number of people are at risk of falling into foreclosure, and only those with good credit can get a new loan."

The poll also indicated that a small but growing minority described the state of the U.S. economy as "good," which some experts construe as a further measure of the growing consumer confidence among Americans.

Numerous recent economic indicators have risen slightly, causing some to say that the financial crisis is over, although these positive moves have been leavened by renewed downturns, such as those in the EU.

As with many recent events that have garnered a lot of news coverage, criminal opportunists have taken advantage of the publicity surrounding the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to trick unsuspecting consumers out of their money, according to Consumer Reports.

The primary way in which the scam artists operate is by masquerading as companies participating in the cleanup and soliciting investment under false pretenses, the consumer advocacy group says. They warn that promises of rapid growth, revolutionary new technology, and fat government contracts should be viewed as red flags for those thinking about investing.

Consumer Reports cites a joint press release from industry group FINRA and the Securities and Exchange Commission as saying that "while some of the companies touting their role in the cleanup may be legitimate, others could be bogus operations that are only looking to clean out unsuspecting investors."

Consumers already strapped for cash and in need of debt counseling could be pushed over the edge into bankruptcy from losses to these scams, experts say.