I am currently unemployed and have been for the past 2 years (have had a few odd jobs and volunteer work but only a sporadic income) and always list our household income. I have had no issues getting any credit cards in the past 2 years and have been able to take advantage of all of the good bonus offers. In fact my husband and I typically sign up for our own cards at the same time, when we see a good bonus offer (or we'll each do an app-o-rama on the same day).