The Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services says its clients have accumulated $700 million debt in the past year. (CBC)

More than half a million Canadians are more than three months behind on their credit payments, according to Equifax Canada.

That represents a 19 per cent rise in the average delinquency rate in the year ending May 31, says Equifax, which provides credit check information on companies and individuals.

While the company called the double-digit jump "alarming," the overall average delinquency rate for Canada was 1.52 per cent.

In a report released Thursday, the company said most of the arrears are the result of missed payments on credit cards.

Toronto forklift operator Derek Crooks is among those who are struggling, with about $40,000 in debt racked up on eight different credit cards.

While he says it was too easy to get the cards in the first place, he wishes there was more compassion in the industry.

"Have a bit of mercy on me," he said. "They lend me these cards on good basic grounds. And I think it's all right to pay back their money, but I can't pay back all of this money right away."

Meanwhile, debt counsellors at the Ontario Association of Credit Counselling Services have seen a 25 to 30 per cent jump in clients over the past three months, says spokeswoman Henrietta Ross.

She said her agency's clients racked up more than $700 million of debt last year alone.

"When you look at the economy and the job situation, and just look generally at most debt people have, it wouldn't be surprising for that number to be much higher," she said.

Ross advises clients to put money aside until they have six to eight months worth of savings, just in case they lose their jobs.

In May, a report from the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada showed Canadians are increasingly relying on credit cards and credit lines to finance day-to-day expenditures.

The association reported the total national household debt in Canada had reached an all-time high of $1.3 trillion.