In 2000, 1.2 million people filed for bankruptcy compared to 1.5 million in 2010. That was a 26.2% increase. The chart above shows comparisons, by year, for a decade. 2001 – 2005 compared to 2011 – 2015 showed significant decreases, up to 59.8% between 2005 and 2015. 2006 compared to 2016 showed a 28.9% increase in filing, then the reduced number of filings trend resumed.