Unemployment rates in December 2012 announced by the state Department of Labor on Tuesday increased in Jefferson, Lewis and St. Lawrence counties from the same month a year earlier.

Compared to December 2011, rates jumped from 10 to 10.4 percent in Jefferson County, 9.8 to 10.7 percent in Lewis County and 9.9 to 10.2 percent in St. Lawrence County.

The numbers in December 2012 for the three counties also showed an increase from November 2012: Jefferson County’s rate rose from 9.4 to 10.4 percent, Lewis County’s climbed from 9 to 10.7 percent and St. Lawrence County’s jumped from 9.4 to 10.2 percent.

In upstate New York’s 52-county region surveyed, the rate climbed from 7.9 in December 2011 to 8.4 percent in December 2012. The trend in the north country also reflects statewide numbers for December 2012, as the rate moved up slightly compared to December 2011, from 8 to 8.2 percent. Nationwide, the jobless rate decreased from 8.3 to 7.6 percent over the same time frame.

Thousands of readers like you have made Northern New York Newspapers the number one ranked website* for local news and sports coverage in the north country.

You can continue on to this article in a few seconds, or you can visit one of our websites:

• Watertown Daily Times
• The Ogdensburg Journal
• Daily Courier-Observer