<p>A record 2,272 Spanish individuals and firms declared bankruptcy in the second quarter, up 28.6 percent from the same period in 2011, the National Statistics Institute, or INE, said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Failing businesses accounted for all of the increase, as personal bankruptcies fell by 12 percent.<br /><br />Spain had 6,755 bankruptcies in 2011, the highest annual total since the INE began keeping records, and an increase of 13.3 percent over the previous year.<br /><br />Nearly 31 percent of all the firms that declared bankruptcy in the second quarter were in construction, which continues to shrink as Spain struggles with a double-dip recession and the bursting of a decade-long housing bubble.<br /><br />Small and medium-sized companies, defined as those with annual turnover of less than 2 million euros ($2.48 million), represented 70 percent of the business bankruptcies in the April-June period.<br /><br />Spain's jobless rate stands at 24.6 percent overall and more than 53 percent among people under 25. </p>
<p>A record 2,272 Spanish individuals and firms declared bankruptcy in the second quarter, up 28.6 percent from the same period in 2011, the National Statistics Institute, or INE, said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Failing businesses accounted for all of the increase, as personal bankruptcies fell by 12 percent.<br /><br />Spain had 6,755 bankruptcies in 2011, the highest annual total since the INE began keeping records, and an increase of 13.3 percent over the previous year.<br /><br />Nearly 31 percent of all the firms that declared bankruptcy in the second quarter were in construction, which continues to shrink as Spain struggles with a double-dip recession and the bursting of a decade-long housing bubble.<br /><br />Small and medium-sized companies, defined as those with annual turnover of less than 2 million euros ($2.48 million), represented 70 percent of the business bankruptcies in the April-June period.<br /><br />Spain's jobless rate stands at 24.6 percent overall and more than 53 percent among people under 25. </p>