The number of local bankruptcies jumped 49.5 percent year over year in 2008 as the wealth of Hawaii households continues to dry up in the crippled economy.

Bankruptcy filings in December were up 83.3 percent to 209 from 114 a year ago, while total cases for the year were 2,064 - the highest since 2005, according to preliminary statistics filed with Office of the U.S. Trustee. The numbers may edge slightly upward since today is the final filing day of the year.

“;This is the worst I've ever seen,”; with the exception of a surge in filings prompted by the passage in October 2005 of a law intended to make it more costly and difficult to file for bankruptcy, said Greg Dunn, a 20-year Honolulu bankruptcy lawyer.

Calling it a “;perfect storm”; with tourism, housing and the stock market all down in addition to the virtual drying up of credit and home equity, local lawyers have been inundated with bankruptcy cases, many of them working around the clock to file before year's end.

Furthermore, bankruptcies are expected to soar next year as the economy continues to weaken - driving unemployment, foreclosures and mounting credit-card debt for those who can't make ends meet.

“;It's going to be horrible,”; said local bankruptcy lawyer Blake Goodman. “;Hawaii could get hit really badly.”;

In Goodman's 17 years in the field, bankruptcy quadrupled even in prosperous years in the 1990s, but he has never seen such a significant jump in unemployment than in the past three months, he said.

“;All walks of life, people with 25 years on the job, are now without jobs and they go to try to get employment somewhere else and are competing with 200 applicants for entry-level positions,”; he said.

Hawaii foreclosures skyrocketed nearly 248 percent in November - the fifth consecutive triple-digit increase since July, while the state's jobless rate rose to 4.9 percent in November as companies continued to slash work forces in the face of an economic recession. Bankruptcy is typically the last resort for ailing consumers.

The trend is not expected to reverse anytime soon. Nationally, consumer confidence hit an all-time low this month with mass layoffs and dismal job prospects throughout the country, according to new data released yesterday by the Conference Board.

“;It is certainly unprecedented in recent years,”; said local economist Leroy Laney. “;This is an extraordinarily deep and probably long national recession.”;

Those seeking help from Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Hawaii are projected to reach 3,000 next year, up from 2,100 this year and 1,400 in 2007, according to executive director Wendy Burkholder. The firm saw about 800 families in 2006.

“;Foreclosures and unemployment are certainly influencing our numbers, but there's credit-card debt that winds up becoming an enormous downfall for a lot of people,”; she said. “;Things are going to get worse before they get better for a lot of people.”;

Honolulu bankruptcy lawyer Stuart Ing said December is usually a slower time of the year for bankruptcies, which typically peak in February after consumers receive their charge-card statements from the holiday season. He expects a 25 percent jump in bankruptcy filings next year to between 2,500 and 2,700 cases.

“;That's 500 more families that basically can't survive,”; Ing said.