Commercial Bankruptcies Up 45 Percent in First Half of 2008

The number of businesses filing for bankruptcy protection soared 45 percent in the first two quarters of 2008 compared to the first half of 2007, according to McClatchy Newspapers.

In the second quarter, 15,471 businesses filed for bankruptcy protection, according to data from Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER), a filing service that tracks bankruptcies. In the first quarter of 2008, AACER data shows that 13,155 businesses filed for bankruptcy, compared to the 9,103 that filed in the first quarter of 2007.

The second quarter of 2008 marks the 10th straight quarter that commercial bankruptcy filings have increased. Business filings increased 17 percent from Q1 to Q2 this year.

States that saw the largest spike in business bankruptcy filings were Delaware, Montana, Oregon, Maryland and Connecticut, reported McClatchy.