Increase in number of people facing bankruptcy

A recent report has indicated that there is now a higher number of people that are facing bankruptcy in the UK, with a rise of 7 percent in the third quarter of the year compared to the same period last year. The figures come from the Ministry of Justice, and show that 13,653 people had petitioned for bankruptcy in the three months to the end of September.

This number is the second highest since the Ministry of Justice started taking records in 1995. The quarter also saw the number of creditor petitions increase, as well as the number of company winding up petitions, which rose by around 13 percent.

One economist described the figures as ‘a clear taste of things to come’ and he also added: “Individual bankruptcies are poised to surge over the coming months in the face of recession, faster rising unemployment, higher debt levels, very tight credit conditions and more and more people being trapped in negative equity.”

Further increases in bankruptcy levels have been predicted by many industry officials, and it is through that this is because of the ongoing global financial crisis and the expected rise in unemployment figures as the country continues to go through an economic downturn.