Bankruptcy declarations in the European Union reached the highest level since 2015 in the second quarter of this year, driven by increases in the accommodation and food services sectors, the bloc's statistics agency Eurostat said on Thursday.

The number of wound up companies in the April-June period was 8% higher than the previous quarter, marking a sixth consecutive increase, Eurostat said.

Registrations of new businesses edged down in the same period, but remained higher than in 2015-2022, the agency added.

While all sectors of the economy recorded an increasing trend in bankruptcies, accommodation and food services were the most affected, with a 24% increase from the previous reading.

Companies going out of business in the transportation and storage sectors were up 15% on the quarter, while in education, health and social activities the increase was 10%.

The number of bankruptcy declarations was also higher than pre-pandemic levels, with the exception of the industry and construction sectors, which recorded 12% and 3% declines, respectively, from the fourth quarter of 2019, Eurostat said.

(Reporting by Alessandro Parodi; Editing by Mark Potter)