Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- More Americans threw in the towel in October as monthly bankruptcy filings topped 100,000 for the first time since bankruptcy laws were tightened three years ago.

Businesses and individuals in the U.S. filed 108,595 bankruptcy petitions of all types, up 13 percent from the prior month, according to data provided by Automated Access to Court Electronic Records, a service of Jupiter eSources LLC in Oklahoma City.

Filings dropped precipitously after more restrictive bankruptcy laws came into effect in October 2005. Elizabeth Warren, a professor of bankruptcy law at Harvard Law School, said the changes ``drove up the cost of filing for bankruptcy, but it did not end the need for bankruptcy.''

A three-year housing recession has prompted record home foreclosures, rising unemployment and a drop in consumer spending. The biggest credit crisis in seven decades is putting additional stress on Americans, propelling more bankruptcies.

Warren predicted that ``as the economy worsens, more and more families and businesses will turn to bankruptcy to try to save themselves.''

``Bankruptcy filings are another symptom of the malaise affecting households and their ability and willingness to spend,'' said John Herrmann, president of Herrmann Forecasting LLC in Summit, New Jersey. In his view, ``bankruptcies are racing to new highs'' as the ``credit crunch intensifies.''

Filings by consumers soared just before revisions to bankruptcy law took effect and made it more difficult for individuals to erase their debts.

In the two weeks before the new law took effect, 630,000 Americans sought bankruptcy protection, bringing total filings in 2005 to a record 2.1 million. There were 590,500 filings in 2006 and 827,000 in 2007.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Rochelle in New York at wrochelle@bloomberg.net; Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 3, 2008 15:02 EST