New data show that German corporate bankruptcies were up 15.5 percent on the year in December amid the fallout from the economic crisis.
The Federal Statistical Office said Tuesday that 2,583 companies filed for bankruptcy protection in the last month of 2009.
It says corporate bankruptcies increased 11.6 percent for 2009 as a whole over the previous year. A total of 32,687 bankruptcy filings were registered.
The office says that marked the first time since 2003 that the number of filings was above the previous year's.
Germany's economy — Europe's biggest — returned to modest growth last year after a sharp recession, but stagnated in the fourth quarter.
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