NASHVILLE—Cocke County’s unemployment rate rose 1.4 percent to 10.6 percent in December, according to numbers release last week by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Out of a workforce of 16,450 people, 1,740 were without jobs.

In the region, Sevier county had the lowest rate for the month at 8.1 percent, up 1.2 percent from November. Hamblen County followed at 8.9 percent, while Jefferson County was at 9.1 percent and Greene County at 10.2 percent.

For more details, see Thursday's edition of The Newport Plain Talk.