Personal bankruptcies increased 1.4 percent in October but are down 2.8 percent from the same month last year. 

The American Bankruptcy Institute said Tuesday that with another 132,173 consumer bankruptcies filed last month, filings are on pace to hit a five-year high, according to data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

So far this year, about 1.3 million bankruptcy cases have been filed, ahead of the 1.2 million through the first 10 months of 2009. 

Analysts are predicting that filings could reach 1.6 million this year, the largest number since 2005, when there were 2 million filings after Congress made changes to the bankruptcy system that were aimed at making it more difficult to file. 

The law was constructed to push consumers toward Chapter 13 bankruptcy, where a debtor works out a payment plan, but it's used only about 30 percent of the time. Instead, Chapter 7 is more commonly used — it forgives debt and usually requires forfeiture of assets. 

Two job-creation indexes released Tuesday that provide a look into what's happening in the job market show increases in October, indicating a slight improvement in hiring and firing perceptions last month. 

Gallup's Job Creation Index increased to +10 in October from +9 in September, with 30 percent of workers saying their employers are hiring and 20 percent who say their employers are letting workers go. 

Although the October numbers don't reflect a significant change in job market conditions, the index has improved from the same time a year ago, when it stood at +2.

For the second straight month, the Rasmussen Employment Index moved to its highest level since September 2008.

The national unemployment rate still stands at 9.6 percent. 

October's index is up three points to 78.2 from the previous month, and 12 points from the beginning of the year. The index, which measures confidence of workers in the employment market, is also up 12 points from a year ago.

Twenty-one percent of workers report their firms are hiring, up a point from last month, the highest level measured since September 2008. Twenty-two percent say their firms are laying workers off, down a point from September, according to Rasmussen. 

Incomes fell for workers for the first time in more than a year as consumer spending rose, a mixed economic message before Tuesday's midterm elections, according to government data released Monday. 

Consumer spending increased at an annual rate of 0.2 percent in September, 0.5 percent below the rises recorded in July and August, the Commerce Department reported Monday. 

Meanwhile, a report showed that incomes fell 0.1 percent in September after a 0.4 percent rise in August boosted by the return of extended unemployment benefits, according to the report.

Personal income decreased $16.8 billion, or 0.1 percent, and disposable personal income decreased $20.3 billion, or 0.2 percent, in September. Personal consumption expenditures increased $17.3 billion, or 0.2 percent.

The decrease in incomes represents the first decline since a drop of 0.3 percent in July 2009. 

Corporate directors overwhelmingly believe that CEO pay policies could be reformed, according to a new survey by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

American International Group will get up to another $22 billion in government help as part of a restructuring plan, as the Treasury moves to exit from its stake in the firm. 

So far, AIG has raised $36.7 billion to repay the government's part of the funds it received from the Troubled Asset Relief Program during the financial crisis, the Treasury Department announced Monday. 

Following the restructuring, which is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2011 in which AIG will emerge as a viable firm about half its former size. 

The Treasury will own 92.1 percent of AIG's common stock, or about 1.66 billion shares.

A new report from the right-leaning Heritage Foundation shows that recent regulations will cost a record $26.5 billion with which to adhere.

The report, Red Tape Rising, Obama's Torrent of New Regulation, is based on data from the Government Accountability Office.

Manufacturing expanded more than expected in October, and a five-month high for the sector and the 15th-straight month of expansion has bolstered the sluggish economic recovery. 

The manufacturing index increased to 56.9 last month from 54.4 in September, the highest reading since May, providing some good economic news the day before an election that could give Republicans the majority in the House, the Institute for Supply Management said in a report on Monday.

"The manufacturing sector grew during October, with both new orders and production making significant gains," said Norbert Ore, chairman of ISM. 

"Since hitting a peak in April, the trend for manufacturing has been toward slower growth. However, this month's report signals a continuation of the recovery that began 15 months ago, and its strength raises expectations for growth in the balance of the quarter."

Any reading above 50 indicates expansion, and economists had expected a figure closer to that level. The sector accounts for about 11 percent of the economy and has been a driving force of the recovery as consumer spending — 70 percent of the economy — has faltered. 

A recovery in autos, computers and exports drove the growth, while concerns about inventory growth diminished with an increase of 7.8 percentage points in new orders last month. 

Chief Financial Officers are slowly but surely easing from the recession and finding new opportunities to hire, shows a new poll by Financial Executives International and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business. 

Two theories have emerged on what will happen with tax cuts — all cuts will be extended, or nothing.