Hawaii’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in more than eight years as it dipped by one-tenth of a point in February to 3.1 percent from the previous month.

The last time the rate was this low was in November 2007, according to data released today by the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations. The unemployment rate a year ago was 4 percent.

Total nonfarm jobs in February rose by 4,700 to 649,000 from 644,300 in January and jumped by 15,600 over the past year.

The U.S. jobless rate, which was previously announced, was 4.9 percent in February.

The Hawaii labor force, which includes people who are employed and those unemployed but actively seeking work, jumped by 3,200 in February to a record 687,550 from the previous high of 684,350 in January.

There were 666,400 people employed in February, a record, topping the previous high of 662,700 people reached in January. Those unemployed decreased to 21,150 from 21,600 over the same period. A year earlier 26,700 were unemployed.