Canadian consumer bankruptcies showed some mixed numbers in May as the recession continued to take its toll, according to figures released Tuesday

The Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcies reported there were 9,900 consumer bankruptcy filings in May, down by 9.5 per cent from April, but up 34.4 per cent from May 2008.

For the 12-month period that concluded in May, there were 103,123 consumer bankruptcy filings, up 26.4 per cent from the 81,560 filings seen in the 12 months to the end of May 2008.

By comparison, for the 12-month period to the end of April 2009, there were 106,459 consumer filings, and 97,686 for the 12 months to the end of March.

The 12-month total of bankruptcies in Alberta hit 7,873 in May, up 59 per cent from the same period one year earlier, which marked the biggest increase among the provinces.

Among businesses, bankruptcy filings declined nationally. There were 464 business bankruptcy filings in May, down from 529 in April and 554 in May 2008.

For the 12 months to May, there were 5,782 business bankruptcies, down from 6,279 for the one year to May 2008, a decline of 7.9 per cent.