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Decline in Bankruptcy Filings Slowing

For the third straight quarter, bankruptcy filings fell by less than 10 percent, with filings falling by 6.3 percent for the 12-month period ending September 30, 2016, compared with the year ending September 30, 2015. The three most recent reports follow a four-year period in which consecutive double-digit declines had occurred in every reporting period since December 2011.

The September 2016 annual bankruptcy filings totaled 805,580, compared with 860,182 cases in the previous year, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. The number of bankruptcy filings was the lowest for any 12-month period since the year ending December 2007.

A national wave of bankruptcies that began in 2008 reached a peak in the year ending September 2010, when nearly 1.6 million bankruptcies were filed.

BUSINESS AND NON-BUSINESS FILINGS
YEARS ENDED
SEPTEMBER 30, 2012-2016
FY Business Non-Business TOTAL
2016 24,457 781,123 805,580
2015 24,985 835,197 860,182
2014 28,319 935,420 963,739
2013 34,892 1,072,807 1,107,699
2012 42,008 1,219,132 1,261,140

BANKRUPTCY FILINGS
BY CHAPTER OF THE BANKRUPTCY CODE
12-MONTH PERIODS ENDING
SEPTEMBER 30, 2012-2016
Year Chapter
  7 11 12 13
2016 498,367 7,450 458 299,150
2015 550,036 7,040 383 302,642
2014 642,366 7,658 372 313,262
2013 753,995 9,564 405 343,651
2012 874,337 10,597 541 375,521
2011 1,036,950 11,979 676 417,503

Additional statistics released today include:

Learn more about bankruptcy and bankruptcy court rules, or search historical data on bankruptcy filings

Related Topics: Bankruptcy Courts, Bankruptcy Filings