SALEM — Oregon’s unemployment rate has sunk below 4%, the lowest level in more than four decades, according to state economists.

The low rate of 3.9% has created a tight labor market, according to the state of Oregon Employment Department. Oregon’s rate was slightly above the U.S. rate of 3.5%, according to the Oregon Employment Department. The unemployment rate has hovered at historic lows near 4% for the past 37 months, according to the state data released Tuesday.

The tight labor market may have thwarted some industries, like government and retail trade, from adding a substantial number of jobs in November, according to the data.

However, most of Oregon’s major industries have expanded the number of jobs by about 2% this November compared with November 2018, the data show. Private education and health services grew the fastest, adding nearly 10,000 jobs. The number of jobs in retail trade, however, contracted in November, and cut 1,800 jobs compared with the same period the year before.