The local unemployment rate climbed last month, exceeding the state number, according to a report released Friday the Agency for Workforce Innovation.

In Sarasota County, May’s rate was 5.9 percent compared with 5.6 percent in April and 3.6 percent a year ago.

Number-wise, 10,459 people in the county were jobless. Manatee County’s unemployment rate was 5.7 percent last month, up from 4.9 percent in April and 3.5 percent in May 2007. In all, there were 8,710 out of work.

Florida’s jobless rate was 5.5 percent, which matches the national average, up from 5 percent in April and 3.9 percent a year ago. The increase was blamed, in part, on the declining housing market.