Subject: Lee's unemployment rate jumps to 13.4 percent

The unemployment rate in Lee County jumped to 13.4 percent in January, according to numbers released Thursday by the state Employment Security Commission.

The rate for Lee County in December was 10.9 percent.

Statewide, the unemployment rate jumped to 9.7 percent, up from 8.1 percent in December. It was the highest unemployment rate in North Carolina since March 1983, when the rate was 10 percent.

The jobless rate increased in each of the state's 100 counties.

Read more about this breaking news in Friday's Herald. (Source: Sanford Herald Facebook email 3:18 pm.” - Becoming a member of Sanford Herald's Facebook is a good way to stay up on late-breaking stories.)