ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Consumer bankruptcies slowed somewhat in April as compared to the previous month. But the American Bankruptcy Institute found the April total still was 15 percent higher than the amount filed during the same month in 2009.

ABI shared data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center that revealed 144,490 consumer bankruptcies were filed in April. The sum represented that 15-percent increase nationwide over the 125,618 filings recorded in April of 2009.

However, the institute pointed out that April's total was 3 percent lower than the amount of bankruptcies filed in March of this year. Officials indicated 149,268 consumer filings were recorded during that time.

All told in April, ABI noted that Chapter 13 filings constituted 25 percent of all consumer cases, the same rate as the previous month.

"As Congress continues to consider measures to protect and assist consumers, bankruptcy is still the last resort for families coping with unemployment and increasing debt loads," asserted ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano.

"Consumer filings this year will likely surpass 1.5 million filings," Gerdano predicted.