The American Bankruptcy Institute determined total bankruptcy filings in the United States decreased 13 percent in April compared to the same month last year.

According to data provided by Epiq Systems, bankruptcy filings totaled 87,954 in April, down from the year-ago figure of 100,770.

Officials indicated consumer filings declined 12 percent to 84,579 from last April’s consumer filing total of 96,357.

Total commercial filings last month decreased to 3,375, representing a 24-percent decline from the 4,413 business filings recorded in April of last year.

ABI noted total commercial Chapter 11 filings dipped 4 percent to 683 filings in April, down from the 711 commercial Chapter 11 filings registered in the same month a year ago.

“Sustained low interest rates for business borrowers, sluggish consumer spending and the high costs associated with filing for bankruptcy have kept the filing rates below normal,” ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano said.

Officials pointed out total bankruptcy filings for the month of April represented a 4 percent decrease compared to the 91,253 total filings recorded in March.

ABI went on to mention total noncommercial filings for April also represented a 2-percent decrease from the March’s noncommercial filing total of 87,932.

However, officials acknowledged April’s commercial filing total represented a 2-percent uptick from the March commercial filing total of 3,321.

Furthermore, April commercial Chapter 11 filings also increased, rising 20 percent when compared to the 568 filings registered the previous month.

Epiq’s data also showed the average nationwide per capita bankruptcy-filing rate in April was 3.09 (total filings per 1,000 per population), an increase from the 2.98 rate registered in the first three months of the year.

Average total filings per day in April were 2,932, a 13-percent decrease from the 3,359 total daily filings in April 2013.

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

1. Tennessee (6.32)

2. Alabama (5.22)

3. Georgia (5.19)

4. Illinois (5.00)

5. Utah (4.86)

ABI 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.