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As an attorney whose practice includes bankruptcy (though not so much lately), while recessions can certainly cause bankruptcies, the bankruptcies themselves normally don't happen until the recession is over and recovery begins. The one caveat is that this is true of consumer bankruptcies; I can't speak for business bankruptcies since I don't handle them. But basically, a person doesn't immediately go bankrupt upon a recession happening. First, there's normally a lag between the recession hitting and job loss. Sales slowly decline, work dries up, people are gradually let go. Then they get unemployment for six months, which they may or may not be able to make ends meet with. Some people are already overextended and the job loss is a disaster. But either way it takes a while before the credit card charges start to add up. Then it gets to the point where even making minimum payments becomes a challenge. Then the recession ends and they get a job making comparable money to before but there's so much extra debt and various arrearages that it doesn't solve the problem. I would add that if we're still in the throes of recession and an unemployed client approaches me about bankruptcy, I'd probably advise against it for the simple reason that it won't do anything. Bankruptcy is only worth it if the debtor will be on sound financial footing afterwards. If debt is eliminated but the person is immediately forced into taking on more debt due to lack of income, they're quickly back in the same position but without bankruptcy as an option. On average, I'd say it usually takes about 9 months to a year after a recession hits before consumer bankruptcies start to pick up, and they don't really peak until 2 or 3 years afterward, for the simple reason that bankruptcy is the kind of thing people put of as long as possible, even if it isn't the best strategy.
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