Employment momentum in the US tech sector stalled in August following its best hiring month of 2018, according to CompTIA’s analysis of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment situation report released Friday. The nonprofit association found tech hiring in August was essentially flat as the sector shed 400 jobs; gains in tech services and software development were offset by declines in manufacturing and telecom.

IT services, custom software development and computer system design added 3,900 positions. However, employment declined by 4,000 jobs in telecommunications and 1,800 jobs in computer, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing.

Modest employment gains were recorded in other information services, including 800 jobs in search portals and 700 jobs in data processing, hosting and related services.

“Tech manufacturing’s run of 14 consecutive months of job gains came to end,” said Tim Herbert, senior VP for research and market intelligence at CompTIA. “While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact cause of a downturn in any given month, the escalating disruption to international trade is certainly weighing on the minds of industry executives.”