Foreclosure activity in Champaign and Clark counties was nearly unchanged in August from a year ago, based on statistics from the clerks of courts offices.

Last month 23 cases were filed in Champaign County, the same as in August 2011. In Clark County, 109 cases were filed in August, compared to 102 cases the year before.

These are filings of initial complaints by lenders against delinquent mortgage payers.

Foreclosure filings year-to-date are higher than they were in the same eighth-month period of 2011. So far this year, 188 total cases have been filed in Champaign County, according to Clerk Penny Underwood. That’s a 22 percent increase.

To date through August, 827 cases have been filed in Clark County, compared to 798 cases for the same time in 2011, according the county office. That’s up four percent.

“We’re still very busy,” said Kerri Brammer, HomeOwnership Center manager for Neighborhood Housing Partnership of Greater Springfield, which offers foreclosure assistance and home counseling. High loan volumes make for slower loan processing and “You still have too many people needing jobs,” she said.

August foreclosure activity gave Ohio the seventh highest foreclosure rate in the country, according to the new monthly report released by RealtyTrac Inc. on Thursday. More than 9,200 foreclosure-related filings were made, including default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions, impacting one in every 556 homes in the state, RealtyTrac said, which tracks foreclosures nationwide.