WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. hiring is hot in health care and hospitality.
Health care and social assistance employers added more than 56,000 jobs in August, led by hospitals and health service providers. The social assistance category, which includes child and elderly care, gained nearly 16,000.
Restaurants and bars added more than 26,000 jobs. Professional and business services, which include accountants and attorneys, gained 33,000.
Manufacturing had a tougher month. The sector lost 17,000 jobs in August as makers of food, machinery and fabricated metal products shed staff.
Mining continued to struggle amid lower energy prices, losing more than 9,000 jobs during August. Since peaking in December, mining employment has fallen by more than 90,000. Most of those cuts have taken place in businesses that provide support for oil and mineral mining.
Overall, U.S. employers added 173,000 jobs in August. The unemployment fell to 5.1 percent, the lowest level since April 2008.
| Industry (change from previous month) | August 2015 | July 2015 | Year to date | Past 12 months |
| Construction | 3,000 | 7,000 | 113,000 | 219,000 |
| Manufacturing | -17,000 | 12,000 | 28,000 | 124,000 |
| Retail | 11,200 | 32,400 | 213,700 | 332,500 |
| Transportation, warehousing | 7,300 | 13,600 | 56,500 | 140,900 |
| Information (Telecom, publishing) | -7,000 | 2,000 | 18,000 | 32,000 |
| Financial services | 19,000 | 21,000 | 118,000 | 170,000 |
| Professional services (Accounting, engineering, temp work) | 33,000 | 39,000 | 382,000 | 641,000 |
| Education and health | 62,000 | 53,000 | 432,000 | 611,000 |
| Hotels, restaurants, entertainment | 33,000 | 30,000 | 237,000 | 439,000 |
| Government | 33,000 | 21,000 | 93,000 | 130,000 |
| Source: Labor Department |
