Hawaii bankruptcy filings decreased for the 26th straight month in May, confirming continued economic recovery.

The 207 bankruptcy cases filed in May represented a 5.5 percent drop from the 219 cases filed in May 2012, according to data from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

The drop in bankruptcies reflects the prolonged turnaround of Hawaii’s economy following the recession that ended four years ago.

Hawaii is "getting continued confirmation of improvement in the economy," said local economist Paul Brewbaker. "I think we’re good now, for a few years."

The May bankruptcy filings included 157 Chapter 7 liquidation cases, 49 Chapter 13 or so-called "wage-earner" cases in which debts are repaid according to a set plan, and one Chapter 11 reorganization case.

Chapter 11 cases typically are filed by businesses, but last month’s case was filed by an individual.

Theodorico Erum Jr. of Kauai declared in his filing that the debts were primarily business debts.

The Chapter 7 liquidation cases increased by 4 percent year over year, to 157 from 151, while Chapter 13 cases declined nearly 27 percent to 49 from 67 cases in May 2012.

Compared with April, bankruptcies rose in all counties except Maui in May. On a year-over-year basis, Maui County saw no change with an equal number of cases filed in May 2013 and May 2012. From April to May, Maui saw a 25.5 percent decline in bankruptcy filings.

The largest decrease in year-over-year filings came on Hawaii island, which saw a 29 percent drop from May 2012 to last month.