Providing yet another headwind for economic recovery, FICO, a leading provider of credit scores, said more Americans are seeing their average credit scores fall to new lows.

The shift is significant not just because of its magnitude, but also because the repurcussions of these lower credit scores will be with us for a long time to come.

The numbers also paint a picture of an increasingly polarized consumer base.

On the bright side, more people are beginning to achieve a credit score of over 800, the top tier of creditworthiness. That’s because many people have cut spending and are paying down debt in response to to tighter credit and uncertain economic times.

But more troubling is that more consumers are slipping into subprime categories.

About 35 percent those with credit histories—or some 70 million consumers—now have a credit score below 650, which means that they are considered subprime—or even, nonprime—borrowers, said John Ulzheimer, president of consumer education at Credit.com.

(Read More at CNBC)