Business failures in the U.S. rose 6.9% last year.

Joseph W. Duncan, corporate economist and chief statistician for Dun & Bradstreet Corp., said business failures nationwide grew to 61,232 in 1986 from 57,253 in 1985. Duncan cited continuing economic stress in the oil-producing areas of the country for the increase in failures. But if Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma were removed from the totals, failures actually would have declined 2.1% in 1986, he noted. Of the nine major industry sectors surveyed, the service sector posted the largest increase in business failures nationwide, rising 25.6% to 20,912 from 16,649.