Consumer bankruptcy filings shot up by 50% in December 2008 from the same month a year earlier, the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada said Monday.

The number of people across the country who made bankruptcy filings in December was 7,821. That was down from 8,163 in November 2008, but well ahead of the 5,192 filings made in December 2007.

For all of 2008, Canadians made 90,610 bankruptcy filings, up 13.5% from 2007.

The increase in filings came as the economic downturn took hold in Canada toward the end of 2008.

Business bankruptcies for December showed a much smaller increase. The federal government agency said 478 firms made bankruptcy filings in December 2008, up 2.4% from December 2007.

Businesses filing for bankruptcy for all of last year actually declined by 2% from 2007.

IE