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According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, citing data provided by Epiq Systems, total bankruptcy filings in the U.S. for August 2013 decreased 15% compared to the previous year. August bankruptcy filings totaled 88,902, down from the 104,471 filings registered in August 2012.

Total commercial filings for August 2013 were 3,789, representing a 24% decrease from the 4,973 filings during the same period in 2012. Commercial chapter 11 filings totaled 590 in August, a 10% decrease from the 652 filed in August 2012. The 85,113 total noncommercial filings for August represented a 15% drop from the August 2012 noncommercial filing total of 99,498.

“The deep and sustained drop in bankruptcies reflects lowered consumer borrowing since the financial crisis, resulting in less debt on household balance sheets,” said Samuel J. Gerdano, ABI executive director. “Total bankruptcy filings will be just over one million new cases filed this year, the lowest figure since 2008,” he added.

The August bankruptcy filings did show slight increases from July as total filings were up 1% from July’s total of 87,715. Noncommercial filings also increased 1% in August from the July total of 84,110, and commercial filings increased 5% from the July total of 3,605. The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy filing rate for the first eight calendar months of 2013 (Jan. 1-August 31) remained unchanged at 3.49 (total filings per 1,000 population) from the first seven months of the year.

The average daily filing total in August 2013 was 2,868, a 15% decrease from the 3,370 total daily filings registered in August 2012. States with the highest per capita filing rate (total filings per 1,000 population) through the first eight months of 2013 were: 1. Tennessee (6.77) 2. Georgia (5.92) 3. Alabama (5.78) 4. Utah (5.42) 5. Illinois (5.30).