Washington –  Bankruptcy filings increased by 0.4% for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2019, compared with cases for the year ending Sept. 30, 2018, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Annual bankruptcy filings totaled 776,674, compared with 773,375 cases in the previous year ending in September.

The level of filings is still 51%below the peak reached in 2010, during the aftermath of the Great Recession, 2007-09. A national wave of bankruptcies that began in 2008 reached the highest level in the year ending September 2010, when nearly 1.6 million bankruptcy cases were filed. Filings declined yearly through 2018.