The unemployment rate in Massachusetts dipped below 3 percent in July even as Bay State employers shed 3,500 jobs.

According to the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development, the Massachusetts jobless rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.9 percent. The national unemployment rate in July was 3.7 percent.

“Over the last year, the labor force has increased by 18,000, with 34,400 more residents employed and 16,400 fewer residents unemployed,” Labor and Workforce Development Secretary Rosalin Acosta said. “These increases to the labor force, coupled with an unemployment rate that has remained below 4 percent for 39 consecutive months, continue to highlight the overall strength of the Massachusetts economy.”

From July 2018 to July 2019, Massachusetts added 37,300 jobs, according to the federal government’s estimates.