ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute tallied up total U.S. consumer bankruptcies for 2010 and found a rise of 9 percent from the previous year.

According to data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center, ABI revealed overall consumer filings for the 2010 calendar year totaled 1,530,078. In 2009, the amount was 1,407,788.

The institute indicated annual consumer filings have increased each year since the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Prevention Act was enacted in 2005.

"The steady climb of consumer filings notwithstanding the 2005 bankruptcy law restrictions demonstrate that families continue to turn to bankruptcy as a result of high debt burdens and stagnant income growth," stated ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano.

"We expect that consumer filings will continue to rise in 2011," Gerdano added.

ABI also shared figures for just December, which included 118,146 consumer filings. The amount marked a 4-percent climb from December of 2009 when 113,274 filings were recorded.

The tally also represented a 3-percent increase from the previous month. ABI said 114,587 filings came in November.

Among December filings, officials mentioned Chapter 13 constituted 30 percent of all consumer cases, a slight increase from November.