Almost 5,000 companies went bankrupt in the first six months of this year – the highest level ever and a rise of 14% on the same period in 2012, the national statistics office CBS said on Thursday.

Four out of 10 bankruptcies involved a building company or trading and wholesaling firm. The number of one-man operated firms going bust rose just 1%.

Most firms went bankrupt in Zuid-Holland, Noord-Brabant and Noord-Holland but most industry is concentrated in these provinces, the CBS said.

The sharpest rise in the bankruptcy rate was in Groningen, with an increase of 69%. By contrast, in Gelderland just 5% more firms went bust than in the first six months of 2012.