U.S. corporate bankruptcy filings crept up for the second month in a row in January.

There were 53 bankruptcy filings in January, up from 50 in December. The monthly total is the highest since March 2021.

The increased bankruptcy fillings come after a historically slow year in 2022 and ahead of a widely anticipated recession in 2023. Certain sectors like healthcare are seeing more signs of distress than others.

Consumer discretionary led filings

Consumer discretionary had the most filings for any sector, with six in January. Healthcare and industrials followed with five apiece.

* Download the charts in Excel format. * For retail-specific bankruptcy data, check out the monthly Retail Market Series.

Editor's note: This Data Dispatch is updated on a regular basis. The last edition was published Jan. 6.

Bankruptcy figures include public companies or private companies with public debt with a minimum of $2 million in assets or liabilities at the time of filing, in addition to private companies with at least $10 million in assets or liabilities. Market Intelligence may remove companies from this list if it discovers that their total assets and liabilities do not meet the threshold requirement for inclusion.