For the fourth straight year, personal bankruptcies in Minnesota climbed in 2010-fueled by staggering job and housing markets amid the recession, the Star Tribune reports.

More than 22,000 Minnesotans filed for personal bankruptcy last year, up 4 percent from 2009, and 87 percent from 2007.

And the effects of the recession are obvious nationwide: Roughly 1.53 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in 2010, a 9 percent jump from the previous year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Looking forward, economists cite mixed signals that may or may not drive down personal filings in 2011. Some believe that a decline in consumer credit card debt will help reduce filings, while others say that the bankruptcy rate can't drop until the markets that drive families to file for bankruptcy-namely, housing and labor-improve.

Read more in the Star Tribune here.

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