UPPER CUMBERLAND – Jobless rates were up again in the Upper Cumberland for the month of December, according to data released today by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Eleven of the region’s 14 counties saw increases from November. Cumberland County (8.7), for example, was up 1.0 percentage point, while Clay (9.3) and Pickett (12.5) each saw a 0.6 percentage point gain. Others include Cannon (5.6), DeKalb (6.1), Warren (6.5), Overton (6.7), Fentress (7.1), Jackson (7.4), White (7.8), Van Buren (9.5).
Only Macon (5.1), Putnam (5.9) and Smith (5.1) had drops in numbers.
Despite the monthly increases, all 14 counties had better unemployment numbers than at this point last year.
For December, Tennessee’s non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.4 percent, unchanged from November. The national unemployment, as a comparison, was 5.4 percent, a decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month.
| Counties | December | November | December 2013 |
| Cannon | 5.6 | 5.4 | 5.7 |
| Clay | 9.3 | 8.7 | 10.1 |
| Cumberland | 8.7 | 7.7 | 8.9 |
| DeKalb | 6.1 | 6.0 | 7.0 |
| Fentress | 7.1 | 6.8 | 8.0 |
| Jackson | 7.4 | 7.2 | 8.9 |
| Macon | 5.1 | 5.3 | 6.2 |
| Overton | 6.7 | 6.2 | 7.9 |
| Pickett | 12.5 | 11.9 | 12.6 |
| Putnam | 5.9 | 6.1 | 6.6 |
| Smith | 5.1 | 5.3 | 6.2 |
| Van Buren | 9.5 | 8.8 | 10.3 |
| Warren | 6.5 | 6.4 | 7.5 |
| White | 7.8 | 7.7 | 9.7 |
| Cities | December | November | December 2013 |
| Cookeville | 5.5 | 5.8 | 6.2 |
| Crossville | 8.7 | 7.7 | 8.9 |
| McMinnville | 6.5 | 6.4 | 7.5 |
