Consumer bankruptcies were up 47.7% in April compared to a year ago, with 92,291 Americans filing for bankruptcy last month, the American Bankruptcy Institute revealed Friday. This number is up 7% since March.

There were 850,912 consumer bankruptcies in all of 2007—38% more than in 2006. The record national high came in 2005 when more than 2 million American consumers filed for bankruptcy just before the federal bankruptcy law was reformed. These reforms not only made it more difficult for consumers to file under Chapter 7 of the law in order to discharge their debt, but it also increased debt payments under Chapter 13 of the law and eliminated other former protections.

"The sharp spike in consumer bankruptcies reflects the growing financial stress faced by American families, saddled with household debt and mortgage woes," says Samuel Gerdano, executive director of the institute. "We expect consumer bankruptcies to top 1 million new cases this year."