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Personal Bankruptcy Growth Slows
In May, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts released statistics on personal bankruptcy filings for the 12-month period ending March 31, 2002. Personal bankruptcies were up 15.2 percent for the period, compared to the 12-month period ending March 31, 2001. Filings totaled 1,464,961, the highest 12-month total on record. While this may sound alarming (and was reported as such in the popular press), the news is not all bad.
Most of the increase was logged from March through December last year. In particular, the filing rate during the second quarter of 2001 registered a startling increase. In hindsight, this was likely a result of the rapid progress of the federal bankruptcy reform effort in both the U.S. House and Senate. Consumers in financial trouble were being urged to file quickly so that their petition would be considered under the old rules. Of course, Spotlight readers know, the legislative push stalled in May last year when the Senate leadership abruptly changed from Republican to Democratic hands. By the fourth quarter of 2001, the strength in filings was more a result of genuine economic distress than an artificial reaction to pending legislation.
The good news is that a comparison of first quarter filings in 2002 to first quarter filings in 2001 reveals that petitions are up only 3.5 percent. This result is especially encouraging since most of the first quarter of 2001 was prior to the big surge in filings. First quarter filings in California, by far the largest single source of personal bankruptcies in the U.S., were actually down by 2.9 percent compared to the first quarter a year ago. Filings were also down in Texas ( 0.2 percent decline) and New York (1.3 percent decline). So, the bankruptcy picture is improving in some areas, despite last fall's downturn.
Still, there is financial pain out there. Households in states with economies dominated by manufacturing are hurting. A listing of the top 10 states in terms of growth in bankruptcy filings (first quarter 2001 vs. first quarter 2002) includes Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin and Illinois (see Table 1).
| Table 1 | |
|---|---|
| Top Ten States for Growth in Personal Bankruptcies (1Q 2001 vs. 1Q 2002) |
% Change |
| South Carolina | 19.3 |
| Utah | 15.5 |
| Arizona | 14.4 |
| Indiana | 13.0 |
| Michigan | 12.9 |
| Ohio | 11.9 |
| Wisconsin | 10.7 |
| Illinois | 9.6 |
| Georgia | 8.6 |
| North Carolina | 8.5 |
| Personal Bankruptcies in 2002 by State and Judicial District for the 12-Month Period Ending March 31, 2002 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Filings as of 3/31/2002 |
% Change In Total 3/31/2001-3/31/2002 |
% Chapter 7 as of 3/31/2002 | |
| Total | 1,464,961 | 15.2% | 70.7% |
| Alabama | 38,693 | 12.7% | 45.0% |
| Middle | 8,150 | 8.5% | 46.6% |
| North | 23,772 | 12.4% | 44.9% |
| South | 6,771 | 19.6% | 43.5% |
| Alaska | 1,348 | 2.7% | 91.3% |
| Arizona | 25,531 | 22.0% | 80.1% |
| Arkansas | 21,324 | 18.2% | 58.8% |
| East | 13,684 | 20.6% | 53.4% |
| West | 7,640 | 14.2% | 68.4% |
| California | 147,299 | 6.7% | 81.8% |
| Central | 85,053 | 8.4% | 83.1% |
| East | 30,431 | 4.5% | 85.7% |
| North | 18,695 | 3.7% | 71.2% |
| South | 13,120 | 6.0% | 79.7% |
| Colorado | 18,410 | 15.7% | 87.3% |
| Connecticut | 11,218 | 4.1% | 85.2% |
| District Of Columbia | 2,498 | 6.2% | 69.6% |
| Delaware | 2,820 | 8.3% | 65.4% |
| Florida | 86,172 | 16.6% | 72.7% |
| Middle | 48,910 | 18.7% | 72.9% |
| North | 6,195 | 14.1% | 79.3% |
| South | 31,067 | 14.0% | 71.1% |
| Georgia | 70,355 | 14.4% | 40.4% |
| Middle | 16,998 | 9.4% | 42.9% |
| North | 38,759 | 18.1% | 44.5% |
| South | 14,598 | 11.3% | 26.7% |
| Hawaii | 4,909 | 7.1% | 89.2% |
| Idaho | 8,106 | 14.0% | 86.5% |
| Illinois | 74,793 | 19.2% | 73.2% |
| Central | 14,546 | 21.5% | 85.7% |
| North | 51,930 | 19.4% | 70.0% |
| South | 8,317 | 14.8% | 71.2% |
| Indiana | 49,129 | 25.5% | 80.6% |
| North | 19,089 | 27.5% | 83.9% |
| South | 30,040 | 24.2% | 78.5% |
| Iowa | 10,903 | 25.7% | 94.6% |
| North | 4,145 | 19.0% | 96.1% |
| South | 6,758 | 30.1% | 93.7% |
| Kansas | 13,722 | 16.4% | 82.2% |
| Kentucky | 25,938 | 18.5% | 83.6% |
| East | 11,399 | 21.1% | 87.1% |
| West | 14,539 | 16.6% | 80.9% |
| Louisiana | 26,257 | 12.4% | 61.1% |
| East | 9,860 | 13.0% | 68.4% |
| Middle | 3,407 | 19.0% | 70.4% |
| West | 12,990 | 10.4% | 53.1% |
| Maine | 4,433 | 11.1% | 92.8% |
| Maryland | 34,566 | 11.6% | 68.1% |
| Massachusetts | 16,749 | 5.9% | 85.3% |
| Michigan | 47,674 | 23.5% | 71.7% |
| East | 33,785 | 26.2% | 69.9% |
| West | 13,889 | 17.3% | 76.3% |
| Minnesota | 16,927 | 16.8% | 83.0% |
| Mississippi | 21,857 | 12.4% | 65.0% |
| North | 7,856 | 15.9% | 65.0% |
| South | 14,001 | 10.6% | 65.0% |
| Missouri | 30,721 | 16.3% | 73.1% |
| East | 16,693 | 9.4% | 66.5% |
| West | 14,028 | 25.9% | 81.0% |
| Montana | 3,821 | 14.6% | 88.2% |
| Nebraska | 7,084 | 20.6% | 83.1% |
| Nevada | 18,036 | 25.3% | 74.7% |
| New Hampshire | 3,604 | 6.5% | 90.7% |
| New Jersey | 40,588 | 7.0% | 64.0% |
| New Mexico | 8,009 | 15.5% | 89.3% |
| New York | 66,400 | 11.5% | 80.8% |
| East | 24,564 | 6.4% | 78.3% |
| North | 15,510 | 14.1% | 81.3% |
| South | 13,796 | 13.1% | 87.9% |
| West | 12,530 | 17.3% | 77.1% |
| North Carolina | 33,790 | 18.7% | 46.4% |
| East | 14,057 | 21.5% | 49.2% |
| Middle | 10,852 | 12.5% | 40.3% |
| West | 8,881 | 22.3% | 49.3% |
| North Dakota | 2,019 | 4.8% | 97.3% |
| Ohio | 71,165 | 26.7% | 80.7% |
| North | 36,950 | 28.7% | 82.8% |
| South | 34,215 | 24.7% | 78.4% |
| Oklahoma | 22,442 | 14.5% | 87.8% |
| East | 4,102 | 8.4% | 92.9% |
| North | 5,502 | 14.6% | 91.8% |
| West | 12,838 | 16.6% | 84.5% |
| Oregon | 21,995 | 22.3% | 88.7% |
| Pennsylvania | 50,672 | 13.0% | 70.2% |
| East | 23,773 | 10.5% | 57.2% |
| Middle | 11,341 | 10.8% | 78.8% |
| West | 15,558 | 18.9% | 84.0% |
| Rhode Island | 4,742 | 4.7% | 91.6% |
| South Carolina | 14,654 | 18.9% | 44.6% |
| South Dakota | 2,582 | 26.1% | 96.2% |
| Tennessee | 60,496 | 17.4% | 46.6% |
| East | 18,908 | 14.6% | 61.4% |
| Middle | 14,572 | 17.2% | 62.5% |
| West | 27,016 | 19.5% | 27.7% |
| Texas | 73,818 | 18.2% | 53.4% |
| East | 11,247 | 25.0% | 54.0% |
| North | 26,184 | 24.3% | 49.9% |
| South | 18,996 | 12.6% | 55.5% |
| West | 17,391 | 12.0% | 56.0% |
| Utah | 19,621 | 25.4% | 63.9% |
| Vermont | 1,648 | 12.7% | 90.3% |
| Virginia | 40,685 | 10.7% | 75.2% |
| East | 28,724 | 8.1% | 70.7% |
| West | 11,961 | 17.3% | 86.0% |
| Washington | 36,741 | 14.6% | 80.2% |
| East | 9,726 | 12.9% | 76.8% |
| West | 27,015 | 15.2% | 81.4% |
| West Virginia | 9,844 | 10.4% | 94.7% |
| North | 4,059 | 17.1% | 93.8% |
| South | 5,785 | 6.1% | 95.3% |
| Wisconsin | 21,882 | 20.6% | 84.0% |
| East | 14,653 | 16.9% | 81.4% |
| West | 7,229 | 29.1% | 89.4% |
| Wyoming | 2,358 | 9.4% | 94.4% |
| Guam | 305 | 119.4% | 84.6% |
| NMI | 20 | 25.0% | 90.0% |
| Puerto Rico | 13,542 | -7.5% | 30.3% |
| Virgin Islands | 46 | 4.5% | 56.5% |
| Circuit | |||
| 1st | 43,070 | 1.7% | 69.9% |
| 2nd | 79,266 | 10.4% | 81.6% |
| 3rd | 94,126 | 10.2% | 67.4% |
| 4th | 133,539 | 13.7% | 64.2% |
| 5th | 121,932 | 15.9% | 57.1% |
| 6th | 205,273 | 22.0% | 68.9% |
| 7th | 145,804 | 21.5% | 77.3% |
| 8th | 91,560 | 18.2% | 76.1% |
| 9th | 268,111 | 11.8% | 81.9% |
| 10th | 84,562 | 17.4% | 81.6% |
| 11th | 195,220 | 15.0% | 55.6% |
| 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 | |||