Hawaii’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth straight month and hit 3 percent in November, the lowest level since October 2007, according to data released today by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.

The seasonally adjusted jobless rate dropped two-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month as non-agricultural payroll jobs rose by 2,000 from October.

For the U.S. the previously reported unemployment rate for November was 4.6 percent, down from 4.9 percent in October.

The state’s labor force, which includes people who are employed and those who are unemployed but actively seeking work, increased to a record 696,850 from the previous high of 692,850 in October.

There were a record 676,200 people employed in November, up from the previous high of 670,950 the previous month. The number of unemployed fell to 20,650 from 21,850.

Non-agricultural jobs rose to 656,200 from 654,200 in October. The non-agricultural payroll jobs figure includes people who might hold multiple jobs but doesn’t include people who are self-employed.

Hawaii’s unemployment rate is derived largely from a monthly telephone survey of households, while a separate survey of businesses determines the number of non-agricultural payroll jobs.

The state’s lowest unemployment rate since January 1976 — the oldest available data — was 2.4 percent, achieved from October through December 2006 and May through September 1989.