After posting the highest number of bankruptcy filings in a year last year, the first quarter numbers in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Northern Georgia District, which includes the Atlanta Metro area, rose almost 36 percent in the first quarter. 

The total number of bankruptcies filed rose to 12,059 in January, February and March of 2009, up from 8,878 in the same time period in 2008.

The jump is seen mostly in Chapter 7 cases, which grew 61 percent, according to court records.