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Bankruptcies Still Falling Through
First Quarter, 2000
Personal bankruptcies continued trending downward in the first quarter of this year. Data compiled by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts indicate that 302,879 non-business petitions were filed during the first 3 months of this year, a 5.8% drop compared to the first quarter of 1999. Personal bankruptcies declined on a year-over-year basis throughout 1999 but the rate appears to be slowing. The year-over-year decline was 10.4% in the third quarter of 1999 and 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Weekly filing data from Visa, U.S.A's Bankruptcy Notification Service confirm that filings during April and May were down only slightly from the same period in 1999. Consequently, it appears that the best news regarding improvement in the bankruptcy picture is now behind us. Visa estimates that filing volume for the calendar year 2000 will be about 2% lower than in 1999.
A total of 1,263,096 non-business petitions were filed in the U.S. during the 12 months ending March 31, 2000. Of these 70.2% were filed under Chapter 7, which allows individuals to keep exempt property (as dictated by state law) while any remaining property is sold to repay creditors. Remaining debts are discharged. About 95% of Chapter 7 cases are "no-asset" cases because there are no non-exempt assets to liquidate.
Of the 91 judicial districts that comprise the 50 states and Puerto Rico, only 6 experienced an increase in their 12-month filing volume. The nearby table displays the filing volume within the 50 states, subdivided by judicial district.
| Table 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| PERSONAL BANKRUPTCIES IN 2000 BY STATE AND JUDICIAL DISTRICT FOR THE 12-MONTH PERIOD ENDING MARCH 31, 2000 | |||
| TOTAL FILINGS AS OF 3/31/2000 |
% CHANGE IN TOTAL 3/31/2000-3/31/99 |
% CHAPTER 7 AS OF 3/31/2000 |
|
| TOTAL | 1,263,096 | -8.3% | 70.2% |
| ALABAMA | 30,417 | -2.6% | 39.9% |
| MIDDLE | 6,454 | -2.3% | 42.3% |
| NORTH | 19,206 | -3.3% | 38.1% |
| SOUTH | 4,757 | -0.3% | 44.0% |
| ALASKA | 1,363 | 1.5% | 92.2% |
| ARIZONA | 21,601 | -6.3% | 81.5% |
| ARKANSAS | 16,077 | -3.3% | 60.2% |
| EAST | 10,001 | -5.0% | 54.3% |
| WEST | 6,076 | -0.3% | 69.8% |
| CALIFORNIA | 166,534 | -16.9% | 80.2% |
| CENTRAL | 95,758 | -15.7% | 80.4% |
| EAST | 32,587 | -11.9% | 85.8% |
| NORTH | 23,661 | -25.6% | 73.1% |
| SOUTH | 14,528 | -19.7% | 78.2% |
| COLORADO | 15,537 | -11.9% | 84.8% |
| CONNECTICUT | 11,519 | -15.3% | 87.3% |
| DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA | 2,615 | -5.6% | 66.7% |
| DELAWARE | 2,350 | -3.7% | 67.4% |
| FLORIDA | 73,131 | -6.7% | 73.1% |
| MIDDLE | 40,719 | -7.9% | 72.6% |
| NORTH | 4,928 | -6.5% | 80.3% |
| SOUTH | 27,484 | -4.9% | 72.6% |
| GEORGIA | 56,540 | -4.5% | 37.1% |
| MIDDLE | 13,858 | -5.3% | 40.5% |
| NORTH | 31,057 | -4.0% | 40.9% |
| SOUTH | 11,625 | -4.8% | 22.9% |
| HAWAII | 5,148 | -12.2% | 89.9% |
| IDAHO | 6,972 | -1.7% | 80.6% |
| ILLINOIS | 62,018 | -5.5% | 71.8% |
| CENTRAL | 11,539 | -6.3% | 85.4% |
| NORTH | 43,756 | -5.9% | 68.1% |
| SOUTH | 6,723 | -2.1% | 72.4% |
| INDIANA | 37,424 | -2.1% | 81.6% |
| NORTH | 14,028 | -3.0% | 84.9% |
| SOUTH | 23,396 | -1.5% | 79.5% |
| IOWA | 8,156 | -8.9% | 94.0% |
| NORTH | 3,311 | -8.2% | 96.6% |
| SOUTH | 4,845 | -9.4% | 92.3% |
| KANSAS | 11,257 | -10.4% | 80.7% |
| KENTUCKY | 20,515 | -5.4% | 83.5% |
| EAST | 8,778 | -6.5% | 87.3% |
| WEST | 11,737 | -4.6% | 80.6% |
| LOUISIANA | 22,425 | 1.4% | 56.0% |
| EAST | 7,824 | 10.6% | 64.5% |
| MIDDLE | 2,736 | -2.6% | 68.5% |
| WEST | 11,865 | -2.9% | 47.6% |
| MAINE | 3,881 | -10.1% | 93.5% |
| MARYLAND | 31,178 | -7.5% | 68.9% |
| MASSACHUSETTS | 17,266 | -17.9% | 86.7% |
| MICHIGAN | 36,138 | -7.6% | 72.1% |
| EAST | 25,009 | -7.6% | 71.1% |
| WEST | 11,129 | -7.6% | 74.3% |
| MINNESOTA | 14,153 | -12.9% | 79.0% |
| MISSISSIPPI | 17,650 | -2.3% | 59.5% |
| NORTH | 5,716 | -3.3% | 61.7% |
| SOUTH | 11,934 | -1.8% | 58.4% |
| MISSOURI | 26,395 | -4.8% | 71.4% |
| EAST | 15,434 | -4.6% | 62.8% |
| WEST | 10,961 | -5.1% | 83.5% |
| MONTANA | 3,268 | -7.8% | 86.8% |
| NEBRASKA | 5,401 | -8.7% | 85.3% |
| NEVADA | 14,258 | -7.4% | 73.8% |
| NEW HAMPSHIRE | 3,666 | -17.5% | 92.2% |
| NEW JERSEY | 38,792 | -12.4% | 65.6% |
| NEW MEXICO | 6,685 | -10.0% | 85.9% |
| NEW YORK | 62,671 | -15.7% | 81.3% |
| EAST | 24,783 | -18.5% | 79.3% |
| NORTH | 13,829 | -11.5% | 83.9% |
| SOUTH | 13,351 | -17.7% | 87.5% |
| WEST | 10,708 | -11.4% | 74.9% |
| NORTH CAROLINA | 25,162 | -4.9% | 41.9% |
| EAST | 9,800 | -8.3% | 46.2% |
| MIDDLE | 8,498 | -3.7% | 34.0% |
| WEST | 6,864 | -1.4% | 45.6% |
| NORTH DAKOTA | 1,973 | -9.1% | 95.8% |
| OHIO | 52,425 | -3.8% | 78.9% |
| NORTH | 27,021 | -1.2% | 81.1% |
| SOUTH | 25,404 | -6.4% | 76.6% |
| OKLAHOMA | 18,774 | -10.1% | 86.1% |
| EAST | 3,472 | -5.8% | 92.8% |
| NORTH | 4,622 | -7.5% | 87.9% |
| WEST | 10,680 | -12.5% | 83.1% |
| OREGON | 15,439 | 0.8% | 85.0% |
| PENNSYLVANIA | 42,640 | -4.4% | 70.8% |
| EAST | 21,301 | -6.7% | 57.1% |
| MIDDLE | 9,625 | -0.5% | 81.8% |
| WEST | 11,714 | -3.1% | 86.8% |
| RHODE ISLAND | 4,879 | -6.4% | 93.4% |
| SOUTH CAROLINA | 11,327 | -0.8% | 48.4% |
| SOUTH DAKOTA | 2,081 | -1.2% | 96.9% |
| TENNESSEE | 45,900 | -6.1% | 43.8% |
| EAST | 14,750 | -4.4% | 56.8% |
| MIDDLE | 10,699 | -6.1% | 59.3% |
| WEST | 20,451 | -7.4% | 26.4% |
| TEXAS | 61,441 | -9.4% | 54.1% |
| EAST | 8,862 | -5.1% | 50.0% |
| NORTH | 20,145 | -13.0% | 52.1% |
| SOUTH | 16,799 | -7.7% | 56.7% |
| WEST | 15,635 | -8.7% | 56.3% |
| UTAH | 13,676 | 0.9% | 61.0% |
| VERMONT | 1,641 | -11.7% | 92.5% |
| VIRGINIA | 36,979 | -10.4% | 74.1% |
| EAST | 27,396 | -11.5% | 71.2% |
| WEST | 9,583 | -7.0% | 82.2% |
| WASHINGTON | 30,842 | -3.4% | 78.4% |
| EAST | 7,672 | 3.8% | 77.2% |
| WEST | 23,170 | -5.6% | 78.8% |
| WEST VIRGINIA | 7,863 | -5.3% | 94.5% |
| NORTH | 3,273 | -0.6% | 94.0% |
| SOUTH | 4,590 | -8.4% | 94.8% |
| WISCONSIN | 17,370 | -3.5% | 85.4% |
| EAST | 12,159 | -2.7% | 83.0% |
| WEST | 5,211 | -5.3% | 91.1% |
| WYOMING | 1,947 | -7.7% | 93.4% |
|
|
|||
| GUAM | 126 | 51.8% | 83.3% |
| NMI | 7 | -12.5% | 85.7% |
| PUERTO RICO | 17,533 | 3.2% | 28.9% |
| VIRGIN ISLANDS | 70 | 12.9% | 80.0% |
|
|
|||
| CIRCUIT | |||
| 1ST | 47,225 | -9.2% | 66.9% |
| 2ND | 75,831 | -15.6% | 82.5% |
| 3RD | 83,852 | -8.3% | 68.3% |
| 4TH | 112,509 | -7.1% | 64.3% |
| 5TH | 101,516 | -6.0% | 55.5% |
| 6TH | 154,978 | -5.6% | 67.5% |
| 7TH | 116,812 | -4.2% | 77.0% |
| 8TH | 74,236 | -6.9% | 75.3% |
| 9TH | 265,558 | -12.7% | 80.4% |
| 10TH | 67,876 | -8.5% | 80.0% |
| 11TH | 160,088 | -5.2% | 54.1% |
|
|
|||
| States and territories in each circuit: | |||
| 1st: ME, MA, NH, RI, PR | |||
| 2nd: CT, NY, VT | |||
| 3rd: DE, NJ, PA, VI | |||
| 4th: MD, NC, SC, VA, WV | |||
| 5th: LA, MS, TX | |||
| 6th: KY, MI, OH, TN | |||
| 7th: IL, IN, WI | |||
| 8th: AR, IA, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD | |||
| 9th: AK, AZ, CA, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, WA, GUAM, NMI | |||
| 10th: CO, KS, NM, OK, UT, WY | |||
| 11th: AL, FL, GA | |||