Bankruptcy filings in New Hampshire aren’t quite at the record-low levels recorded at the beginning of the year, but they are still pretty low by historical measures and don’t seem to be going up.
Some 53 individuals and businesses filed for protection in May, five fewer than were filed in April, and nine fewer than filed in May of last year. We are still on track for a record low year. Year to date, we are averaging 51.6 bankruptcy filings a month. Last year, the average was 61.
To put it in perspective, there were some 472 bankruptcy filings recorded in May 2010, the midst of the last recession. The average monthly filings that year totaled 459. You have to go back to May 1987, when there were 50 bankruptcy filings, to find a May with fewer.
Bankruptcy attorneys attribute the lack of filings to the lingering effects of massive government aid during the pandemic and programs and court backlogs that have also brought foreclosures to a near standstill.
There were seven business-related bankruptcies in May. Most were households with business-related debt, but it did include one business that filed directly on the last day of the month:
• O’Neil and Sons Installations LLC, Nashua, filed May 31, Chapter 7. Assets: $1,000. Liabilities: $69,384.
— BOB SANDERS
