Within North Dakota, 2,000 bankruptcy cases were filed in 2002, a number showing no change from the year 2000. This month’s Economic Brief, a monthly publication released by the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, reports that, nationally, 42 states reported increases in the number of bankruptcy cases filed between 2000 and 2002.

North Dakota and Alaska showed no change while seven states had a decrease in the number of cases. Overall, bankruptcy cases filed in the United States rose 17.9 percent during this period.

Bankruptcy cases filed in North Dakota and throughout the nation rose dramatically during the later half of the 90s. In North Dakota, cases peaked in 1999 at 2,200 but have since shown a modest decline. The downward trend in bankruptcies in North Dakota may signal a strengthening of the state’s economy,” said Richard Rathge, State Data Center director. “However, it is very sobering to realize that the number of bankruptcies is nearly twice as high as it was ten years ago and five times higher than it was 20 years ago.”

Among states, the percentage change in bankruptcy cases between 2000 and 2002 ranged from 18.4 percent less in Delaware to a 43.8 percent increase in Utah.

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Source: Richard Rathge, (701) 231-7980, Richard.Rathge@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Rich Mattern, (701) 231-6136, richard.mattern@ndsu.nodak.edu