ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Overall, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, bankruptcy filings dipped slightly from October; however, they remained up 39.2 percent in November over the same period in 2007.

Relying on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center, ABI reported that November consumer filings came in at 99,925, representing a slight decrease from the October total of 106,266.

Meanwhile, Chapter 13 filings constituted 32.7 percent of all consumer cases in November, a slight increase from October. 

"While new bankruptcies dipped slightly in November from the yearly high reached last month, we are still on track for nearly 1.1 million new cases this year, the highest figure since Congress changed the bankruptcy laws in 2005," said Samuel Gerdano, ABI's executive director. 

"We expect the alarming rate of personal bankruptcies to continue well into 2009," he concluded.