According to an article in Reuters, business bankruptcy cases rose more than 40% over the same period in 2008.

There were 7,514 commercial bankruptcy filings for the month, compared with just 5,354 during the same month a year ago, according to Automated Access to Court Electronic Records (AACER), a database of U.S. bankruptcy statistics used by attorneys and lenders. The figures do not include Chrysler, which filed for bankruptcy in April or General Motors, which filed on June 1…

Per day, 376 companies sought protection from creditors in bankruptcy court.

"The average filing amount per day is actually the highest since the bankruptcy law changed in October of 2005," said Mike Bickford, president of AACER.

The Deal Watch Blog also discusses a study that finds the increase in business filings will continue.

The number of corporate bankruptcies in the United States is projected to rise by 45 percent this year, with worldwide business insolvencies expected to increase by 35 percent, according to a new study published today. It’s a situation that the study’s sponsor, Paris-based credit insurer Euler Hermes, referred to as a “burial ground” for business.

The Euler Hermes International Insolvencies Outlook indeed paints a dark and gloomy picture of the future of global business, at least in the near term…

More than 43,500 U.S. companies declared bankruptcy in 2008, according to the study, second only to France, with 57,650, among the list of 29 countries examined by Euler Hermes and its chief researcher, Karine Berger.