In our last post, we talked about foreclosure filings. In this post, we're going to talk about bankruptcy filings for 2010. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts released their report this week, and the results are almost good news. Even in Georgia.

Nationally, the number of new bankruptcy filings increased by 8 percent from 2009 to 2010. The increase isn't good, but it's important to note that filings went up more than 30 percent every year from 2006 to 2009. The rate of filings has definitely slowed.

Just one circuit saw a drop in the number of filings last year, and it wasn't Georgia's. The 6th Circuit saw a drop of 2.5 percent, a marked improvement over the 20 percent increase from 2008 to 2009.

The 11th Circuit -- the circuit that houses Georgia's Northern, Southern and Middle Districts -- reported a 9.6 percent increase, from 207,231 filings in 2009 to 226,703 in 2010. In non-business filings, Chapter 7 bankruptcies dominated the 11th District, with 131,864 or about 62 percent. Chapter 13 filings accounted for about 37 percent.

Georgia's three districts combined had a different mix. Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings weren't too far apart, representing 54 percent and 46 percent, respectively. Georgia accounted for just over a third of the filings in the 11th Circuit.

Preliminary data for second quarter 2011 are consistent with the 2010 numbers. In our circuit, Chapter 7 filings outnumbered Chapter 13 filings. In Georgia, the difference wasn't quite so pronounced.

Overall, then, we can take comfort in the slower rate of growth. Still, a nationwide total of 1.59 million new bankruptcy filings is hard to comprehend.

Sources:

United States Courts, Bankruptcy Statistics, accessed Aug. 12, 2011

Legal Times, "Bankruptcy Filings Rose in 2010, But at a Slower Clip," Aug. 12, 2011