ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Looking at third-quarter and nine-month bankruptcy statistics, the American Bankruptcy Institute reported that the 292,291 total of U.S. bankruptcies filed during the third quarter represent a 34-percent increase over the 218,909 cases filed over the same period in 2007.

Based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, total filings for the first nine months of 2008 were up 35 percent to 841,496, compared with the 622,999 filings during the same period in 2007.

"The dramatic spike in both personal and business bankruptcies reflects an economy in distress, with worried consumers over-extended and unable to supply the spending typically needed to keep the national economy going," explained Samuel Gerdano, ABI executive director

Consumer filings totaled 280,787 during the third quarter, representing a 33-percent increase over the 211,742 filed during the same period of 2007.

Consumer chapter 7 filings during the 2008 third quarter totaled 187,227, a 47-percent climb over the 2007 third quarter total of 127,192.

Additionally, chapter 13 consumer filings also increased during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, with the 93,333 filings, representing an 11-percent jump over the 84,376 filings during the same period of last year.

The 1,042,993 total filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30 were up more than 30 percent from the same period in 2007, which totaled 801,269.

Interestingly enough, ABI indicated that the bankruptcy filing rate per thousand U.S. residents totaled 3.38 for all chapters during the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008.

About 2.21 Americans per thousand filed for chapter 7, while 1.15 per thousand filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy, up from the similar period a year ago.

Tennessee was the state with the highest per capita filing rate in the country, with 7.27 residents per thousand filing in all chapters, and also had the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 13 filings at 4.16.

The state with the highest per capita filing rate for chapter 7 bankruptcy was Nevada at 4.30 per thousand for the 12-month period ended Sept. 30, 2008.

Non-business filings for the 12-month period totaled 1,004,342, an increase of 30 percent from the 775,344 total of non-business filings calculated over the same period in 2007.

Business filings for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, totaled 38,651, up 49 percent from the 25,925 bankruptcy petitions filed in the same time frame of last year.

The 679,982 total chapter 7 filings for the 12-month period represent a 40-percent increase from the 484,162 filings from the same period in 2007. Chapter 11 filings also increased, rising 49 percent to 8,799 in 2008 from 5,888 in 2007.

Total chapter 13 filings increased 14 percent to 353,828 in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, from 310,802 in the same period last year. Chapter 12 filings, however, decreased 8 percent from 361 in 2007 to 332.

Business filings for the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, totaled 11,504, up 61 percent from the 7,167 bankruptcy business cases filed in the same period in 2007. Non-business filings for the three-month time frame increased 33 percent from 211,742 in 2007 to 280,787 in 2008.

ABI discovered that the 29,960 business bankruptcies recorded during the first three quarters of 2008 have eclipsed full-year 2007 business filing of 28,137.

Business filings represented the sharpest increase during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, with 11,504 filings, up 61 percent over the 7,167 business filings in 2007.

Meanwhile, chapter 11 business filings spiked to 2,485 during the third quarter of 2008, an increase of 76 percent over the 1,410 filings during the similar period in the prior year.

As for Chapter 7 business filings, they also increased to 7,927 during the three-month period ending Sept. 30, 2008, representing a 65-percent climb over the 4,816 filings during the similar period of last year.