AUGUST 2004

Bankruptcy Filings Stabilize

Personal bankruptcy filings appear to have settled into a steady-state pattern somewhat below last year's volume but somewhat above levels observed in 2002. Using data compiled from courthouse records, the National Bankruptcy Research Center (Lundquist Consulting, Burlingame, CA) reports that through the first 29 weeks of 2004 (as of July 24), personal bankruptcy filings were 3.7% lower than the same 29-week period in 2003. The chart below displays the week-by-week filings over the past four years. Just over 900,000 households had filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. through the week ending July 24th. So, despite continued job growth and rising household incomes, bankruptcies remain stubbornly on track at a rate in excess of 1.5 million petitions annually.

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