Another 18,000 Ontarians made an insolvency filing in the third quarter of 2009, bringing the total to 51,000 for the year so far.
This means that about 1 in every 200 Ontario adults filed a proposal or made an assignment in bankruptcy in just three-quarters of 2009.
If you want to see the results in graphical form, they can be found here. The raw data was published here.
This flood of insolvencies, running at about 40% above 2008 rates, has come in a period of historically low interest rates and is likely the result of higher unemployment. Unemployment does not look to be declining and interest rates have nowhere to go but up. We have also produced charts showing the close correlation between consumer insolvencies and unemployment.
During Q3 2009, the rate of insolvencies remained steady in Toronto, Ottawa, London, and Kitchener-Waterloo-Barrie. The rates fell in Muskoka-Kawarthas, Hamilton-Niagara, and the Northwest. Rates have continued to rise during Q3 2009 in Windsor-Sarnia, Kingston-Pembroke, Stratford-Bruce, and the Northeast.
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