When much of the world’s economy shut down after the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, businesses across the U.S. were on the ropes. In total, 639 U.S. corporations went bankrupt that year, according to an analysis by S&P Global. Despite the Federal Reserve slashing interest rates to near zero and Congress unveiling the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act to help keep Main Street afloat, it was a disastrous year for American businesses.
But surprisingly, in 2023, rising interest rates and wages have led to even more bankruptcies than during the height of the pandemic among the U.S.’s biggest firms. There were 642 total corporate bankruptcy filings last year, a 13-year high, according to a new report from S&P Global. That’s not only more than there were in 2020—when, as S&P Global notes, there was “a flurry of COVID-19 pandemic-related filings”—it’s also 72% more bankruptcies than there were in 2022.
