As U.S. commercial bankruptcy filings continue to surge higher, the American Bankruptcy Institute noticed an uptick in consumer filings in August, too.

According to data provided by Epiq Systems, total bankruptcy filings increased 1 percent to 68,495 in August, slightly up from the year-ago figure of 67,777. ABI indicated consumer filings constituted 65,296 of last month’s total.

In August of last year, the consumer filing total was 65,286.

ABI determined total U.S. commercial bankruptcy filings increased 28 percent in August 2016 over the same month last year, coming in at 3,199 filings. August marked the 10th consecutive month with a year-over-year increase in commercial filings.

“Debt-burdened businesses continue to turn to the financial shield of bankruptcy,” ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano said. “As distress continues in the energy and retail sectors, 2016 business bankruptcies will surpass the totals registered the past two years.”

ABI also mentioned that the total filings for August represented a 12-percent increase compared to the 61,340 total filings in July. Total noncommercial filings for August were also 12 percent more than the July noncommercial filing total of 58,385. 

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate in August was 2.55 (total filings per 1,000 per population), a slight increase from the 2.53 rate registered in the first seven months of the year.

Average total filings per day in August were 2,210, a 1-percent increase from the 2,186 total daily filings in August of last year.

States with the highest per capita filing rates (total filings per 1,000 population) in August were:

1. Tennessee (5.63)

2. Alabama (5.45)

3. Georgia (4.69)

4. Illinois (4.23)

5. Utah (4.17)

ABI has partnered with Epiq Systems, a provider of managed technology for the global legal profession, in order to provide the most current bankruptcy filing data for analysts, researchers and members of the news media.