The number of bankruptcy filings recorded in New Hampshire last month was the lowest for any June on record.

Fifty-one individuals and businesses filed for bankruptcy protection in June, three fewer than the previous low for any month since 1987, and four below any June since 1986, when the Bankruptcy Court started keeping track.

The June total was 11 fewer than May’s and 30 fewer than June 2020.

The continued new lows in bankruptcy filings has defied the expectations of many, including bankruptcy lawyers, who expected them to rise during the pandemic. Instead — thanks to massive amounts of federal assistance and protections — they have fallen to levels not seen in a generation.

Filings have now stayed below 100 — usually well below 100 — for 15 consecutive months. For 30 years before that, they have always been in the triple digits.

Year to date, the monthly average of filings is 69.

In 2020, the average was 88. In 2010, in the midst of the Great Recession, the monthly average was 459.

There were just three personal filings that included business-related debt in June, the same as in May. But, unlike May, when no business filed directly, one did file in June. It was:

• Recycled Asphalt Shingle Technology LLC, dba RAS Tech LLC, Brentwood, filed June 30, Chapter 7. Assets: $0. Liabilities: $ 236,635.

— BOB SANDERS