美国个人破产申请再度增长

Personal bankruptcy filings were back on the upswing in February after dipping the prior month.

There were 111,693 consumer bankruptcy filings last month, up 9% from January, the American Bankruptcy Institute said Tuesday based on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center. The increase comes after filings fell 10% in January.

The report offered little indication that the flood of consumer bankruptcies is easing. The number of filings was 14% above year-ago levels. Compared to the same period two years ago--when the unemployment rate was just 4.8%--filings were up 47%.

Despite the economy's modest recovery, individuals face high unemployment and tight credit. Difficulty accessing credit takes a toll on small companies in particular, which are more likely to be at least partly supported by the owner's personal assets and credit.

Both continuing pressure on small businesses and the persistently high unemployment rate will continue to feed consumer bankruptcies. The American Bankruptcy Institute estimated that the number of filings this year could top 1.5 million.

The government's official tally of consumer bankruptcies last year jumped to 1.4 million, a 32% increase from 2008, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said Tuesday. That number--which had been previously estimated by the bankruptcy research center--was the highest since 2005 when Congress overhauled bankruptcy laws to make it more difficult for individuals to shed their debts.

Meanwhile, the number of businesses that filed for bankruptcy in 2009 climbed to 60,837, 40% higher than the previous year.