Despite an up tick in the final month of last year, full-year bankruptcy activity moved lower in 2014.
American consumers and businesses filed 63,090 new bankruptcies in December, inching up from the prior month’s 62,403 filings.
During the same month in 2013, the nation’s bankruptcy courts were hit with a total of 66,530 new filings.
The American Bankruptcy Institute reported the data.
Based on the 910,090 total flings for all of last year, the national per-capita rate was 2.93 per 1,000 in population, improving from 3.33 the prior year.
Tennessee’s per-capital rate was 6.10 — the worst in the country. The second-worst state was Alabama, with a rate of 5.28. Georgia’s 5.24 followed, then Utah’s 4.85 and Illinois’ 4.66.
Non-commercial U.S. filings numbered 60,625 last month,
creeping up from 60,155 in November.
In December 2013, there were
66,530 consumer bankruptcy filings.
The latest activity brought full-year 2014 non-commercial filings to
875,635.
Annual bankruptcy filings fell from 988,489 consumer filings in 2013.
