Bankruptcies fell in Tucson, across Arizona in 2020 despite COVID-19 pandemic | Business News

[ad_1]

Located in the downtown James A. Walsh US Courthouse, the bankruptcy court handled fewer bankruptcy filings in 2020.

AE Araiza / Arizona Daily Star File

The number of bankruptcies filed in Tucson and across Arizona fell in 2020 despite the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The improvement came as the state and city started 2020 on a strong economic footing and federal pandemic aid may have helped avert some bankruptcies.

Last year, all types of bankruptcy filings nationwide fell 20.6% to 12,900 compared to 2019, while Tucson filings were down 25.5% to 2,920, according to the Arizona bankruptcy court district.

Filings in the Phoenix area were down more than 19%, while filings in the court’s Yuma office were down 11.7%.

University of Arizona economist George Hammond said the falling bankruptcy filings were in part an indication of how strong the state and local economies were at the time of the pandemic, which could potentially limit the damage caused by COVID-19.

At the national level, bankruptcy filings fell by around 30% over the past year.

“What we’re seeing now looks unusual,” said Hammond, director of the Economic and Business Research Center at the UA’s Eller College of Management. “The economy was doing pretty well and carried that momentum from 2019 onwards, so individuals and businesses may have more cushion for the year than they otherwise would.”

Hammond said the massive infusion of federal COVID-19 aid – including the $ 2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) bill passed in March and a follow-up aid package of $ 900 billion Impact of the pandemic and kept many individuals and businesses away from bankruptcy courts.

[ad_2]