A record number of Minnesota homeowners are behind on their mortgages.

And economists expect the rate of delinquencies won’t improve until more people return to work.

The Mortgage Bankers Association says about 7 percent of nearly 900,000 homeowners in Minnesota are behind on their payments in the third quarter.

Nationally, nearly 10 percent of mortgage loans, or about 4.3 million, are at least 30 days past due. That’s the highest rate since the association began keeping track in 1972.

The number of foreclosures rose in Minnesota and the rest of the country from July through September. That state ranks 39th in the number of delinquencies, but 15th in foreclosures.

Wells Fargo senior economist Scott Anderson tells the Star Tribune that the numbers just keep getting worse.

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Information from: Star Tribune, http://www.startribune.com