Total bankruptcy filings in the U.S. for November 2013 decreased 15% compared to the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute based on data provided by Epiq Systems. November bankruptcy filings totaled 74,021, down from the 87,090 filings registered in November 2012.

Total commercial filings for November 2013 were 3,055, representing a 28% decrease from the 4,252 filings during the same period in 2012. Commercial chapter 11 filings totaled 482 in November, also a 28% decrease from the 671 filed in November 2012. The 70,966 total noncommercial filings for November represented a 14% drop from the November 2012 noncommercial filing total of 82,838.

“Tepid consumer spending, sustained low interest rates and the costs of bankruptcy continue to deter consumers and businesses from using the Bankruptcy Code,” said ABI executive director Samuel J. Gerdano. “We are on pace this year for the lowest total new bankruptcies since 2007.”

“Because the federal courts rely on bankruptcy filing fees to fund much of the judiciary, the sustained decline in bankruptcies also affects the courts,” he added.

The November bankruptcy filings also decreased from October, as total filings were down 18% from October’s total of 89,904. Noncommercial filings also decreased 18% in November from the October total of 86,336, and commercial filings dropped 14% from the October total of 3,568. November commercial chapter 11 filings registered an 8% decrease from the 522 filings in October.

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy filing rate for the first 11 calendar months of 2013 (Jan. 1-Nov. 30) decreased slightly to 3.4 (total filings per 1,000 per population) from the 3.45 rate for the first 10 months of the year. The average daily filing total in November 2013 was 2,467, a 15% decrease from the 2,903 total daily filings in November 2012. States with the highest per capita filing rate (total filings per 1,000 population) through the first 11 months of 2013 were:

1. Tennessee (6.72)
2. Georgia (5.85)
3. Alabama (5.75)
4. Utah (5.29)
5. Indiana (5.16)