OREANDA-NEWS. Recent gains in the labor market are helping drive down the level of U.S. personal bankruptcy filings, according to Fitch Ratings in its latest U.S. ABS chart of the month.

Aggregate bankruptcy filings are still falling steadily, posting year over year double-digit declines. Total filings for the six months of this year are 12% lower than the same period in 2014. 'With the U.S. labor market continuing to tighten, personal bankruptcy filings are on pace to decline for a record fifth consecutive year,' said Director Herman Poon.

A key development to watch in the coming months will be to what extent credit card issuers will further loosen underwriting standards and expand credit usage. 'If and when loosening credit standards take hold, a logical question will be what effect, if any, it has on the rate of personal bankruptcy filings over time,' said Poon.

Fitch's U.S. ABS Chart of the Month offers succinct perspective of high level macroeconomic trends and how they impact the world of ABS. The chart is available at 'www.fitchratings.com' or by clicking on the above link.