ALEXANDRIA, Va.— As the first quarter of 2012 comes to an end, the bankruptcy filing rate for the period reflect a recovering economy and cautious consumers.

The American Bankruptcy Institute reported a 12-percent dip in bankruptcy filings since the same period of 2011, while commercial filings dropped a significant 19 percent.

“With the economic recovery weighed down by the distressed housing market and high unemployment, consumers and business are continuing to cut their debt burdens,” said ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano.

“We expect that the 2012 bankruptcy totals will be less than last year as companies and families remain vigilant in cutting costs and shoring up their balance sheets,” he continued.

And breaking the numbers down further, according to the data provided by Epiq Systems, bankruptcy filings totaled 314,583 in the first quarter of 2012, down from the 358,131 filings registered in the first calendar quarter of 2011.

Total commercial filings for the first three months of 2012 were 15,833, representing a 19-percent decrease from the 19,638 filings during the same period in 2011.

Lastly, the 298,750 total noncommercial filings recorded in the first calendar quarter of 2012 represented a 12-percent decrease over the 2011 total of 338,493.

On the other hand, officials reported that the average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate for the first three months of 2012 increased to 4.06 (total filings per 1,000 per population) from the 3.73 filing rate of the first two months of the year.

“Both totals are still below the 4.46 per capita filing rate of 2011,” officials noted.

States with the highest per capita filing rate for the first quarter of 2012 were:

1. Tennessee (7.19)
2. Nevada (7.00)
3. Georgia (6.65)
4. Utah (5.87)
5. Alabama (5.87)

As for the month of March, the numbers were a bit different, showing a significant spike from February’s rates.

For March, the 122,118 total filings were up 17 percent from the 104,418 filings in February, but down 17 percent from the 146,384 filings in March 2011.

The 116,459 total noncommercial filings in March 2012 represented a 17-percent increase over the February 2012 total of 99,252, but a 16-percent drop from the 139,029 noncommercial filings in March 2011, officials continued.

And as for total commercial filings, the numbers fell year-over-year.

Total commercial filings in March 2012 increased 10 percent to 5,659 over the 5,166 filings in February 2012, but they were 23 percent less than the 7,355 commercial filings in March 2011.