The number of bankruptcy cases filed in Hawaii fell in 2013 to its lowest level in six years as local residents continued to benefit from a strengthening job market and shrinking credit card debt.

Bankruptcy filings totaled 2,071 in 2013, down 18 percent from the 2,528 cases filed in 2012, according to a report from U.S. Bankruptcy Court. It was the fewest number of cases since 2007 when 1,381 residents and businesses filed for bankruptcy. Bankruptcies peaked at 3,954 in 2010 as Hawaii’s economy struggled to recover from the 2008-2009 recession.

Hawaii’s unemployment rate, which hit a 30-year high of 7.1 percent in the summer of 2009, is now one of the nation’s lowest at 4.4 percent. And the number of payroll jobs statewide, while still below pre-recession levels, has been gaining steadily over the past few years and now stands at 617,300.

Hawaii consumers cut their credit card debt to an average of $5,257 in November from $6,451 in November 2012, according to the latest data available from personal finance company Credit Karma. Although Hawaii’s average credit card debt was the third highest nationally, the average credit score of 663 for Hawaii residents was the highest of all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Borrowers with higher credit scores represent a lower risk to the lender.

The 130 bankruptcy filings in December marked the low point for the year.

On Oahu, bankruptcy filings fell 21 percent to 75 cases in December from 95 a year earlier. Hawaii County experienced a 60 percent decline to 12 cases from 30 cases during the same period last year. The number of filings in Maui County rose to 34 from 26, an increase of 31 percent. Bankruptcy cases in Kauai County rose to nine in December from eight a year earlier.

By category the biggest drop came in Chapter 7 liquidation cases, which fell by 20 percent to 1,535 filings. Chapter 13 cases, which allow debtors to keep their assets if they set up a plan to pay creditors over time, fell by 14 percent to 515 cases in 2013.