Economic devastation from the pandemic in Utah has not triggered an increase in personal or business bankruptcies, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. At least not so far. To the contrary: The Beehive State saw 7,641 personal bankruptcies filed last year under chapters 7 and 13, down 22.7 percent during a year of tumult and COVID-19 lockdowns compared to 9,878 in 2019, when the state’s economy was booming. Business bankruptcies were all but unchanged, with 20 filings under chapter 11 in Utah for all of 2020 compared to 23 in 2019, according to the bankruptcy court. The trend so far this year is down even more, with 2,946 personal and business bankruptcies filed from January through June in Utah, compared to 4,882 in the first six months of 2019 and 4,038 over the first half of 2020. Those numbers have been ticking up slightly in recent months but they’re still well below previous rates. Bankruptcy attorneys say billions of dollars in pandemic relief money from Congress — especially payroll loans to businesses and beefed-up unemployment benefits — appear to have helped thousands of Americans stave off financial collapse. Personal filings rose slightly in March 2020, but for more typical seasonal reasons unrelated to the pandemic. In addition to government assistance, many Utahns who struggled financially during the health crisis have been kept from the edge by limited moratoriums on evictions, debt collections and wage garnishments, including student loan debtors and those who fell behind on rent or utility bills. Some of those benefits are expiring — at least in Utah — and that may account for personal bankruptcies now rising.
