Employers slow down hiring in August

The leisure and hospitality sector, which includes full-service restaurants and hotels, outpaced all large industries by adding 3,200 more jobs over the year — a 2.5 percent increase. (Those numbers are not seasonally adjusted for the gains and losses normally seen throughout the year, making it hard to compare monthly changes.)

Education and health services gained 4,000 positions over the year, for about 1.7 percent job growth.

The construction industry, which earlier this year saw job growth as high as 10 percent, grew abut 1 percent, or 900 positions, compared with the previous August.

Meanwhile, the financial sector cut 1,800 jobs, or 2 percent of its workforce, over the year.

The Pittsburgh metro area, which encompasses Allegheny and six surrounding counties, had the eighthlowest jobless rate in August among 18 metro areas across the state. The metro area fell below the statewide rate of 4.1 percent and was just higher than the U.S. rate of 3.9 percent.

Unemployment in the region ranged from a low of 3.7 percent in Butler County to a high of 5.6 percent in Fayette County.

The numbers in the state’s report are preliminary and will be adjusted in future state reports. The U.S. unemployment report for September is scheduled for release on Friday.