Employment at the local auto industry marked the steepest drop in March since April 2014.

According to data released by the Ministry of Employment and Labor on Sunday, the number of people with jobs in the auto manufacturing sector decreased by 52-hundred in March from a year earlier.

The drop represents the sharpest fall since April 2014 when it decreased by 58-hundred.

Employment in the country’s auto industry shrank by 22-hundred in January from a year earlier, marking the first decrease since September 2014.

The ministry attributed the drop to slow sales in the United States market.