ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The American Bankruptcy Institute found that March consumer bankruptcy filings totaled the highest amount since Congress overhauled the Bankruptcy Code in 2005.

ABI reported that there were 149,268 consumer bankruptcies filed in March. That figure represented a 34-percent increase from the February filing total of 111,693. It also was a 23-percent increase from the total recorded in March of last year, which was 121,413.

Officials mentioned that Chapter 13 filings constituted 25 percent of all consumer cases in March. The percentage was a 2-percent decline from the February figure.

"The sustained economic pressures of unemployment coupled with high pre-existing debt burdens are a formula for consumer filings to surpass 1.5 million filings," explained ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano.

"As consumers continue to look to bankruptcy for financial shelter, annual filings will likely equal those averaged in the years leading up to the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005," Gerdano went on to say.

ABI's data is based on information from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.