Associated Press - November 18, 2009 3:25 PM ET

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's people counters say births and migration to the state have slowed, so population growth has dropped below 1 percent.

Estimates as of July 1 from the Population Research Center at Portland State University show Oregon's population grew by about 32,000, an increase of 0.9 percent from the previous year, to a total of 3.8 million.

In a press release Tuesday, the center said it was the slowest rate of annual growth since the decade began.

Half the increase came from net migration, which fell by 40 percent to 16,000. That's the number of people who moved to Oregon minus those who left. The state typically sees lower migration during hard times.

The other half comes from natural increase - births minus deaths. The center says births fell by 1,800.

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