The number of bankruptcies filed in New Hampshire hit yet another record low in September, continuing to defy expectations during the pandemic-induced recession.

Some 71 Granite State businesses and individuals filed for protection, the lowest number of any month since 1988, save for three months in 2005 following a change in the bankruptcy law that made it much harder to file.

Indeed, despite high unemployment and the phaseout of both federal and state assistance to individuals and businesses, the number of bankruptcies has persisted in the double digits for six months in a row, starting in April, just after the pandemic struck.

Bankruptcy attorneys said they had expected their business to pick up in the fall, once various governmental aid programs dried up. That has yet to happen.

The number of September filings is just a little more than half the 135 that were filed in September 2019, when the economy was at full throttle, and far short of the 481 that were filed in September 2010, in the midst of the last recession.

Thus far this year, the average number of monthly bankruptcy filings is 96. Last year, the monthly average was 148.

There were five filings due to business-related debt, one fewer than August and two more than in July. Three were filed as individuals, leaving two businesses that filed directly.

They were: TRF Farm LLC, Farmington, filed Sept. 3, Chapter 12, Assets: $274,388, Liabilities: $197,173; W.F. Grace Construction LLC, Deerfield, filed Sept. 28, Chapter 11. Assets and liabilities: $1 million to $10 million. — BOB SANDERS