Personal Bankruptcies Jump 7.8 Percent

WASHINGTON - Bankruptcies have nearly doubled in the past decade, including more than 1.6 million people who filed for personal bankruptcy this fiscal year alone in a hangover of debt from the free-spending 1990s.

Continuing the record-setting pace of recent years, personal bankruptcies rose 7.8 percent in the 12 months ending Sept. 30, according to data released Friday by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

The upward trend has continued despite signs of recovery in the economy as effects linger from the consumer spending binge of the 1990s and the historically low interest rates that encouraged borrowing. The rate of bankruptcies generally lags behind direction changes in other economic indicators.

The filings "are being overwhelmingly driven by individuals with household debt," said Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute, a group of bankruptcy judges, lawyers and other experts. "They do reflect the buildup of heavy consumer debt."

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