BUFFALO - While bankruptcy statistics nationwide continue a dramatic surge Western New York filings are on a much slower climb.

As of the 12 month period ending Sept. 30, filings nationwide had increased 30 percent and topped the one million milestone with 1,042,993 filings, according to the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts.

During the same period locally, filings had gone up six percent, according to figures provided by the United States Bankruptcy Court Western District of the New York, which reports on the 17 counties surrounding Buffalo and Rochester.

''Our area is still benefiting from the fact we never experienced the wild escalation of housing values that went on in the other areas of the country,'' said Jeffrey Freedman, Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law senior partner. ''The local economy may not be great, but it is much more stable than in the other regions of the U.S.''

The 30 percent increase countrywide is the highest in one 12-month period since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, BAPCPA, took effect in October 2005.

''The dramatic spike in both personal and business bankruptcies reflects an economy in distress, with worried consumers over extended and unable to supply the spending typically needed to keep the national economy going,'' said Samuel J. Gerdano, executive director of the American Bankruptcy Institute.

In spite of BAPCPA, which was designed to direct more debtors into Chapter 13 plans where they had to repay part of their debts instead of Chapter 7, which absolves the majority of consumer debts. Chapter 7 filings are up 40 percent, while Chapter 13 filings are up 14 percent nationwide.

''This proves that BAPCPA was based on a mistaken premise - that people who could afford to repay their debts were using Chapter 7 to get out of repaying them,'' Freedman said. ''Under BAPCPA debtors must undergo a means test and the fact is debtors facing bankruptcy are so far in debt they are beyond repaying their bills. People don't want to file bankruptcy; it's a last resort they are forced into often because of medical expenses or the loss of a job.''

Jeffrey Freedman Attorneys at Law has 13 offices throughout Western New York, which handle bankruptcy, social security disability and personal injury cases.