Business bankruptcy filings nationwide fell 4.5 percent in the July-to-September quarter, according to Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, a bankruptcy management and data company.

The number of bankruptcies in Washington state dropped in May, the first monthly decline since the beginning of the year.

While the pace of bankruptcies in Western Washington is accelerating, there has been much less of an increase in North Central Washington.

Bankruptcies in Washington state are accelerating in every region so far this year.. In the first three months of 2009, more than 7,000 people statewide declared bankruptcy — up 50 percent from a year ago.

Bankruptcies rose sharply in Washington last year, although North Central Washington fared better than many larger counties.