While the pandemic has caused sharp changes in the economy over the last year, the number of bankruptcies filed nationally in 2020 is the lowest since 1986, according to a report from Patch.com.
In Dane County, 555 total bankruptcies were filed in 2020 compared with 807 in 2019, according to the U.S. Courts Administrative Office. However, experts expect bankruptcies to increase in the coming years because the federal court system was closed near the beginning of the pandemic, which delayed filings for months. Additionally, bankruptcies also tend to be “lagging indicators” of economic distress because of the complex legal process involved; the Great Recession began in 2007 but bankruptcies didn’t peak until 2010.
Across Wisconsin, 11,668 total bankruptcies were filed in 2020 — 29.83% fewer than in 2019, when 16,628 were filed. Businesses accounted for around 4% of all bankruptcies in the U.S. during 2020.
