HARRISBURG - Bankruptcies in Pennsylvania dropped for the first time this decade, falling slightly after four years in which filings spiraled steadily upward.

Pennsylvania's statistics mirrored the larger nationwide trend, as bankruptcies across the country also dipped in 2004, the first national decline since 2000.

However, the number of future bankruptcy filings could drop further if Congress, as it is expected to, approves legislation that would force some filers to repay more of their debts.

All told, Pennsylvania's bankruptcies dropped one-fifth of 1 percent from 2003 to 2004, or 59,423 to 59,302, according to statistics from the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Of those, 98 percent, or 58,164, were personal bankruptcies, according to the ABI, a nonprofit group created by Congress to provide information on insolvency. On a per-household basis, Pennsylvania ranked low among states, with one in every 89 households filing for bankruptcy, below the national average of one in every 73, based on the 12 months through March 31, 2004.

A year-to-year drop in bankruptcies has been rare in the past 25 years, and this most recent decline pales next to the meteoric climb in Pennsylvania bankruptcies during that period.

The steep rise in bankruptcies has been fueled by personal, not business, filings.

Since 1980, the number of annual business bankruptcies in Pennsylvania has gone down while personal bankruptcies have multiplied eight times over, from 6,447 to 58,164.

Bankruptcy attorneys and experts credit the rise to a loss of a stigma, mounting household debt, and a wider awareness of the benefits of filing for bankruptcy.

Sam Gerdano, the ABI's executive director, said that sustained low interest rates helped bankruptcy filings level off last year, specifically because of the refinancing boom.

"People have been able, probably on more than one occasion, to tap into home equity to pay down some of their household debt," Gerdano said.

Gerdano said he expects filings in 2005 to spike before the federal bankruptcy legislation is approved and takes effect as people try to take advantage of the more favorable terms in the current law.

Teresa Brady, a Philadelphia personal bankruptcy attorney, said her office has continued to see a rising tide of bankruptcy customers that defies the recent plateau.

The major reasons tend to be job loss, mounting hospital bills, or credit card debt, particularly former college students who rolled up huge credit card bills, Brady said.

"They can't handle it," Brady said. "By the time they're 23 years old, they are absolutely thousands of dollars in debt. All of the young people say the same thing to me: 'Why would these credit cards companies give me a credit card?'"