Canadian personal bankruptcies in June jumped by over 50 per cent compared to the same time last year, according to numbers released Tuesday by a federal agency.

There were a total of 10,823 personal bankruptcies in June, up 54.3 per cent compared to the previous June's numbers, according to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy Canada. Only 7,013 individuals had to resort to bankruptcy in June 2008, a few months before the recession took hold.

The June 2009 numbers represent a 9.3 per cent increase compared to the previous month's figures, when there were 9,900 personal bankruptcies.

Personal bankruptcies rose for all provinces, both year-over-year and compared to May numbers.

Saskatchewan and Alberta were hit particularly hard. In Saskatchewan, there were 197 personal bankruptcies, more than double the 94 filed in the previous year.

The number of personal bankruptcies in Alberta for June went up 102.2 per cent year-over-year, to 1,021 from 505.

Among the provinces, Nova Scotia saw the smallest increase, as bankruptcies edged up 18.4 per cent year-over-year.

Some analysts had pegged 2009 as a particularly bad year for personal bankruptcies. A report released by Toronto Dominion Economics in May suggested that as many as 160,000 people will walk away from their bills in 2009 and 2010 because of high unemployment and debt.

"Unemployment and heightened household debt will drive a substantial increase in consumer insolvencies over the next two years," Craig Alexander, TD's deputy chief economist, said in the report.

Businesses fare better

Businesses, however, weren't hit as hard as consumers. In June there were 515 business bankruptcies, up 10.8 per cent year-over-year.

Moreover, for the 12-month period ending June 30, business bankruptcies declined compared to the previous 12-month period. There were 5,832 business bankruptcies between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009, down 6.1 per cent compared to the year ending June 30, 2008.

Alexander said in May that even if business conditions improve, it may not help the individual bankruptcy situation, as consumers are still carrying a greater debt load and run a greater risk of falling prey to insolvency.