ALEXANDRIA, Va. — U.S. consumer bankruptcy filings came in at a level that was 36.5 percent higher for the first six months of this year, compared to last year, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Based on data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center, ABI said bankruptcies came in at 675,351 nationwide during the first six months of the year (Jan. 1-June 30), a 36.5-percent increase over the 494,610 total consumer filings during the same period a year ago.

The overall June consumer filing total of 116,365 was 40.6 percent more than the 82,770 consumer filings recorded in June 2008.

While the June total represented an increase over the previous year, it was a 6.8-percent decrease from the May 2009 total of 124,838 consumer filings, executives pointed out.

Chapter 13 filings constituted 27.7 percent of all consumer cases in June, a slight increase from May.

"As unemployment, foreclosures rates and health care costs continue to rise, more consumers are turning to bankruptcy as a last financial resort," said A Samuel Gerdano ABI Executive director.

"We expect that there will be more than 1.4 million new bankruptcy filings by year end," he concluded.