ALEXANDRIA, Va. — U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings increased 48 percent nationwide in July from the same period a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, which relies on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

The overall July consumer filing total of 94,124 also represented an increase of 13.7 percent from the 82,770 filings recorded in June.

Chapter 13 filings constituted 32.5 percent of all consumer cases in July, a slight decrease from June. 

"The most recent uptick in bankruptcy filings reflects growing stress on the household finances of U.S. families," said Samuel Gerdano, ABI executive director.  

"We expect bankruptcies to continue to surge past 1 million new cases by year end," he concluded.