Despite continued high unemployment related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, personal and business bankruptcy filings fell 21.1 percent for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, 2020, according to statistics released by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Annual bankruptcy filings totaled 612,561, compared with 776,674 cases in the year ending Sept. 30, 2019.

There were 22,391 total business bankruptcies, a slight drop from the 22,910 recorded during the same period in 2019. However, Chapter 11 filings ticked up--from 7,105 to 7,981.

Bankruptcy filings also fell 11.8 percent for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2020. The final three months of that period coincided with the first wave of COVID-19 in the United States, as well as a spike in unemployment claims.

Bankruptcy filings tend to escalate gradually after an economic downturn begins. Following the Great Recession, which began in 2007, new filings escalated over a two-year period until they peaked in 2010.

Some filing activity also may have been affected by pandemic-related disruptions to bankruptcy courts, many of which have had limited public building access since mid-March.

To read the full release from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, click here.