• 25
  • March
    2011

According to recent reports, the number of small businesses that filed for bankruptcy has decreased significantly since 2009, leading economists and analysts to believe that the American economy may be improving in Tennessee and throughout the country.

The report from Equifax Inc. stated that Chapter 7, Chapter 11 and Chapter 13 bankruptcy filings by small business owners dropped considerably from the fourth quarter of 2009 to the same period of 2010. Of the United States metro areas that had a high number of small business bankruptcy filings in 2009, over 65 percent saw a smaller number of filings during the past year.

The Chicago area was found to have had the largest decline in small business bankruptcies, with a 30 percent drop. Second was Colorado's Denver area, which reported a more than 20 percent decrease in small business bankruptcy filings.

According to the report, there was a nearly 20 percent drop in the number of small businesses that were forced to close because of bankruptcy from late 2009 to late 2010. This is an excellent development for consumers and residents in those areas, because small businesses are likely to create jobs and to attract visitor to a local area. The success of small business improves the local economy and contributes to an improved economy nationwide.

However, there were several metropolitan areas that reported continuing struggles with small business bankruptcy. According to the Equifax report, the Los Angeles-Long Beach area of California saw a 14 percent increase in the number of bankruptcy filings in 2010, while the Houston area of Texas saw an eight percent increase.

Source: Bankruptcy Home, "Small business bankruptcies fall", Kristen MacBeth, 18 March 2011