Fewer small businesses are declaring bankruptcy nationwide, according to Equifax’s Small Business Bankruptcy Report. Bankruptcies for businesses with 100 or fewer employees shrunk in the second quarter of 2012, by nearly 17 percent from the previous quarter.

In the second quarter of 2011, 19,172 small businesses filed for bankruptcy. That number was down by 28 percent in the second quarter of this year, to 13,745, according to the report.

“The shrinking number of  small business bankruptcies is not surprising,” said Amy Crews Cutts, Equifax senior vice president and chief economist. “Small business owners are still steadfastly deleveraging, bringing their debts, assets and cash flows into better alignment; couple that with promising signals in small business lending, and business owners are better positioned to stay afloat.”

Equifax analyzed Chapter 7, 11 and 13 filings, as part of its comparative study on small business bankruptcy petitions quarter over quarter. View a complete list of the top ranking small business bankruptcy filings by metropolitan area.