Commercial chapter 11 filings increased 105 percent in May 2023 to 680 versus the 332 filings in May 2022, according to data provided by Epiq Bankruptcy, the leading provider of U.S. bankruptcy filing data. Nearly half of the chapter 11 filings were made by corporate subsidiaries. Overall commercial filings increased 31 percent in May 2023 to 2,324 versus the 1,771 registered in May 2022. Small business filings, captured as subchapter V elections within chapter 11, registered a 31 percent increase to 149 in May 2023 versus 114 in May 2022. Total and individual bankruptcies also continue to increase from the reduced volumes experienced during the three years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 38,669 total filings in May 2023 represented a 23 percent increase from the May 2022 total of 31,330. Individual bankruptcy filings totaled 36,345 in May 2023, also registering a 23 percent increase from the May 2022 individual total of 29,559. Individual chapter 13 filings increased 25 percent to 14,644 and individual chapter 7 filings increased 22 percent to 21,625 from May 2022.
