ALEXANDRIA, Va. -

The American Bankruptcy Institute reported that total filings in the United States decreased 13 percent in January from the same month last year.

According to data provided by Epiq Systems, bankruptcy filings totaled 68,153 in January, down from last January's total of 78,602.

Officials indicated consumer filings declined 13 percent in January to 65,263 from 74,846 during the same month last year.

In addition, ABI mentioned total commercial filings in January decreased to 2,890, representing a 23-percent decline from the 3,756 business filings recorded in January of last year.

Furthermore, total commercial Chapter 11 filings fell 21 percent as the figure for January dipped to 487, down from the 387 commercial Chapter 11 filings a year earlier.

"High costs to file and sustained low interests rates continue to steer consumers and businesses away from the fresh financial start of bankruptcy," ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano said.

"The year-over-year filing totals have now declined for 38 consecutive months," Gerdano continued.

When looking sequentially, ABI also pointed out January's total bankruptcy filings represented a 3-percent increase compared to the 66,502 total filings registered in December.

January's non-commercial filings also ticked up 3 percent sequentially, and last month's commercial filing total marked a 0.2-percent increase from December. However, January's commercial Chapter 11 filings represented a 2-percent decrease from the previous month.

The average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate in January was 2.64 (total filings per 1,000 per population), a decrease from December's rate of 3.33.

Average total filings per day in January were 2,199, a 13-percent decline from the 2,536 total daily filings last January.

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

1. Tennessee (5.73)

2. Georgia (4.96)

3. Alabama (4.55)

4. Utah (4.07)

5. Nevada (3.96)

ABI has partnered with Epiq Systems, a leading 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.