After increasing for eight consecutive years, the...

After increasing for eight consecutive years, the number of U.S. business failures leveled off at 61,236 in 1987, Dun & Bradstreet Corp. said. There were 61,601 failures in 1986, 0.6% more than in 1987. Failures jumped in 1986 by 7.6% and in 1985 by 9.9%. The company said said the increases in total U.S. failures in recent years were centered in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana because of the severe stress in the oil sector and its ripple effect on other industries in the region. Combined failures for the three states rose 158% to 12,371 in 1986 from 4,791 in 1984. But in 1987 they remained essentially unchanged from 1986.