Unemployment inched up in Southwest Florida last month but remains well below last year’s levels. The jobless rate in the Sarasota-Manatee metro area rose from 3.2 percent in October to 3.4 percent in November, according to data released Friday by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. But that was under the 4.5 percent posted one year earlier. It also was better than the 3.8 percent rate this year in Florida and the 3.9 percent U.S. average. In Charlotte County, unemployment increased from 3.8 percent to 4.0 percent over the month, but stayed well under last year’s 5.2 percent. The Sarasota-Manatee area added 12,200 jobs over the year, a gain of 4.1 percent.
