A growing number of college students in Fort Lauderdale and other parts of the country are entering the job market burdened by overwhelming debt. And with well-paying jobs harder to find in today's struggling economy, a growing number of these students, many of whom also have a lot of credit card debt, are eventually defaulting on their student loans and filing for bankruptcy protection.

A recent story by FOX Business quoted Department of Education numbers showing that 8.8 percent of all students who took out student loans in the last fiscal year defaulted on their payments. That's up from 7 percent in the previous fiscal year.

In even worse news for college graduates, FOX cites a survey from the Institute for Financial Literacy that found that the percentage of graduates with a bachelor's degree who filed for bankruptcy rose to 13.6 percent in 2010. That's up from 11.2 percent in 2006.

College graduates certainly would prefer not to start their professional lives by defaulting on their loan payments or filing for bankruptcy protection. Both actions will seriously damage their credit scores. However, the graduates' situations may warrant drastic action. In most cases, the temporary pain will give way to a better financial future in the long run.

The news of increased student-loan defaults isn't shocking to Fort Lauderdale bankruptcy attorneys. They've seen many graduates struggle to find jobs in their fields. Many people resist bankruptcy because of the social stigma that still attaches to it. Nonetheless, many people in financial distress should consider the clean slate that is available to them.

Source: Fox Business "More College Grads Defaulting on Student Loans, Filing Bankruptcy" Sept. 13, 2011