Bankruptcies at Record High

Non-business bankruptcies rose 7.8 percent in fiscal 2003 to 1.63 million, the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts said in a statement.

All bankruptcy filings rose to 1.66 million, but business filings fell 7.4 percent to 36,183 in the 12-month period, the courts said.

Since 1994, when filings totaled 837,797, bankruptcies in federal courts have climbed 98 percent.

The rising rate of personal bankruptcies reflects consumer debt, which surged in the boom years of the 1990s and collided with the 2001 recession, said Sam Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

"What we are looking at is the record high buildup of consumer debt through the late '90s and into the new decade, and then some soft employment and economic numbers of a year ago. You combine those and get a lot of families and households under stress," he said.