MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin bankruptcy filings decreased in 2011 — the first time in six years. U.S. Bankruptcy Court records show there were nearly 27,000 bankruptcy petitions filed last year in Wisconsin and that's a 10 percent decrease from 2010.

Almost 80 percent were Chapter 7 bankruptcies, which wipes out credit card balances and medical and utility bills.

National statistics also showed bankruptcy filings fell 12 percent in 2011 to almost 1.4 million. The American Bankruptcy Institute attributed the decrease to consumers shedding debt without declaring bankruptcy and tighter credit that is keeping them from piling up debt.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports (http://bit.ly/z05r0D ) while fewer bankruptcies may be a dose of good economic news, lawyers say conditions haven't improved enough yet to expect a big drop in people declaring themselves insolvent.