Tri-Cities Job Market 'Implodes':

We knew it was coming. According to a report on TriCities.com, the local unemployment rate has jumped.

"Between January and March, more than 2,300 people were unemployed in Bristol, Tenn., and Va., East Tennessee State University economics professor Steb Hipple said Thursday. Hipple said the region’s unemployment rate hits 8.5 percent for the first quarter, almost twice last year’s rate of 4.8 percent for the same period."

Read the rest here: http://www.tricities.com