Bankruptcy filings are one more sign that things are not so peachy on the economic front.
The number of people to throw their hands in the air and tell creditors that there’s no more money to give jumped by 66 percent from 2007, according to a new report.
The report, released Monday by The Warren Group, says 5,676 filings were recorded in 2008 for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Connecticut, compared to 3,417 in 2007. Chapter 7 bankruptcy eliminates most debt after non-exempt assets are used to pay off creditors.
The report says the rise parallels increases around the country.
Despite the increase, the 2008 numbers are still well below the 13,204 filings in 2005.
That jump in 2005 spike occurred just before a federal law went into effect that made it tougher and more expensive to file for bankruptcy protection, the Warren Group says.28
Nationwide, there were nearly 1.1 million bankruptcy filings in 2008, an increase of more than 30 percent over 2007 filings, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. More than 97 percent of the filings were by consumers.
Around Connecticut, according to data from the Warren Group.
- Fairfield County: up from 572 in 2007, 1096 in 2008
- Hartford County: 908 in 2007, 1320 in 2008
- Litchfield County: 216 in 2007, 358 in 2008
- Middlesex County: 182 in 2007, 284 in 2008
- New Haven County: 1,031 in 2007, 1,758 in 2008
- New London County: 251 in 2007, 399 in 2008
- Tolland County: 111 in 2007, 211 in 2008
- Windham County: 146 in 2007, 250 in 2008
