By: Associated Press//February 19, 2018//
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Records show that Wisconsin had its fewest bankruptcy filings in a decade last year.
U.S. Bankruptcy Court figures show that filings decreased to 16,769 in 2017 from 16,835 in 2016. That continued a downward trend that started after the peak of almost 30,000 filings in 2010.
The Journal Sentinel reports that most of the bankruptcy petitions in Wisconsin were Chapter 7 filings, the type intended to give people a fresh start by wiping out debt coming in the form of bills and credit-card balances.
Wisconsin’s estimated unemployment rate dipped to 3 percent in December, tying the lowest rate on record.
A state Department of Workforce Development report shows that the number of people employed in Wisconsin’s private sector set a record in December, as did the size of the state’s labor force.