WASHINGTON — Even though bankruptcy filings are down for the 12-month period ending March 31 overall, the number is beginning to creep back upward.

According to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, 695,575 bankruptcy cases were filed in federal courts in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007, compared to nearly 1.8 million for the previous corresponding 12-month period, which included the surge of filings leading up to the Oct. 17, 2005 effective date of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005.

However, looking at the most contemporary data, filings for the first quarter of 2007, totaling 193,641, were the highest of any quarter in the 12-month period ending March 31, 2007. This represents a 66% from the 116,771 filings in the 3-month period ending March 31, 2006. Additionally, the courts pointed out that filings for the most recent 12-month period exceeded calendar year 2006 at 617,660.