The number of businesses and consumers filing for bankruptcy is increasing rapidly in the state and the nation.

In the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Southern District of Florida, there were 73 percent more business and personal bankruptcies in April compared with a year ago, according to new statistics compiled from court records by Jupiter eSources in Oklahoma City. The Southern District covers nine counties: Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Highlands, Indian River, Martin, Monroe, Okeechobee and St. Lucie.

More businesses filed for bankruptcy in April, 2008, than in any month since new bankruptcy laws took effect in 2005, according to a company that tracks federal court filings.

The numbers show a 49% increase in commercial bankruptcies over last year, with an average of 235 daily filings last month compared to 158 in April, 2007, according to data compiled by Jupiter eSources, an Oklahoma City company that runs a database called Automated Access to Court Electronic Records(AACER). More than 5,000 firms filed for bankruptcy in April, 2008, the most in any month since the new laws took effect in 2005