Some alarming new figures are out about foreclosures in Arkansas.

A California firm reports they shot up by 45-percent in April compared to April 2008.

On a national scale, default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions were up 32-percent, or one for every 374 houses in the country. That's the highest monthly rate since RealtyTrac started following foreclosures across the country in January 2005.

The firm says there were 1,864 houses in Arkansas that received some form of foreclosure notice last month. In April 2008, there were 1,285.

Arkansas had one foreclosure for every 691 houses last month, the 21st-highest foreclosure rate in the country.

"It is logical that home foreclosures are up compared with last year considering that the unemployment rate is higher this year than last year," said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate in April, with one for every 68 houses.

Florida was next, with one in 135. California had one foreclosure last month for every 138 houses, the third highest ratio in the country.

California had the most total home foreclosures last month at 96,560, followed by Florida with 64,588 and Nevada with 16,266.