GENEVA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- A record number of 5,105 bankruptcies were filed by Swiss firms in 2009, which was an increase of 26.7 percent from the previous year, the official Swissinfo.ch news website reported on Wednesday.

    December alone saw 558 bankruptcies, the highest monthly total in the last decade, the website quoted credit information firm Dun& Bradstreet as saying.

    A total of 35,380 new companies were registered in 2009, a decline of 4.3 percent on 2008. But this was the third highest number of new companies set up in the country in the last 10 years, according to the report.

    Switzerland's economic output declined 1.6 percent in 2009, and unemployment is expected to peak at around 5 percent this year, according to government estimates.

Special Report:  Global Financial Crisis