The number of Hawaii residents and businesses filing for bankruptcy fell in January to the lowest level in six years, according to a report issued Monday by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The 122 cases filed in January represented a 23 percent decrease from the 159 cases filed the same month a year earlier. It was the fewest number of cases filed since 114 in January 2008. Bankruptcy filings have been on a downward trend since peaking in 2010 with an average of 330 cases a month.

Bankruptcies fell in all counties except Hawaii County. In Hono­­lulu County the number of cases fell to 89 in January, an 11 percent drop from 100 the same month last year. Filings dropped to 13 cases from 30 in Maui County and to four cases from 13 in Kauai County. Filings in Hawaii County held steady in January at 16 cases.

The biggest drop by category was in Chapter 7 liquidation cases, which fell to 82 in January from 113 a year earlier, a drop of 27 percent. The number of Chapter 13 cases, which allow debtors to keep their assets if they set up a plan to pay creditors over time, fell to 39 from 45, a drop of 13 percent.

The drop in bankruptcy filings in recent months has been accompanied by declining credit card debt. The most recent data from credit-scoring website Credit Karma showed that average credit card debt in Hawaii dropped to $5,338 in December, a 19 percent decline from the same month in 2012.

Although Hawaii ranked third highest nationally in average credit card debt outstanding, residents also had the nation’s highest average credit score at 662. A high credit score indicates an ability to repay debt.

Strengthening job growth and a declining unemployment rate have contributed to Hawaii’s improving credit picture. The state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations reported last month that the number of nonagricultural jobs grew by 9,500 in December from the same month a year earlier. The jobless rate, meanwhile, was 4.5 percent in December, down from 5.1 percent from a year earlier.