Presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took aim at President Barack… Presumptive Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney took aim at President Barack Obama’s handling of the economy at a Friday campaign stop in Pittsburgh.

Appearing at a rally in front of about 300 people at Sauereisen, a privately owned manufacturer of construction materials in O’Hara Township, the presumed GOP nominee attacked Obama on issues ranging from economic policy to rising energy costs in the U.S.

Using examples of people he met over the course of his campaign tour, Romney discussed the value of small business in the nation. One of the examples Romney used was of a Russian immigrant who arrived in the country with chronic back problems.

Romney said the man decided to open his own surgical supply manufacturing company called NuVasive after seeing the surgical techniques and devices used during his own operations. The man told Romney that the company now employs more than 1,200 people and recorded $900 million in profits last year.

Romney said it’s the determination of people like the man who opened NuVasive that drives the country’s economy and makes it one of the strongest in modern society.

“It’s that spirit and those creative new enterprises, and older enterprises that are innovative in their own way, that allow us to create jobs and create a demand for employees that drive wages up,” Romney said.

Romney said that under Obama’s presidency, burdensome regulations and high taxes have damaged this creativity by discouraging people from attempting to start their own businesses. In support of his argument, Romney used the employment report released last Friday by the federal government.

“Just this morning, there was news that came across the wire that said that the unemployment rate has dropped to 8.1 percent, and normally that would be cause for celebration,” Romney said. “But in fact, anything over 8 percent, anything near 8 percent, anything over 4 percent, shouldn’t be a cause for celebration.”

Romney also said the figures in the report were misleading since only 115,000 net jobs were gained over the past month. He said 340,000 Americans suspending their search for employment caused the drop in unemployment.

Along with Obama’s economic policies, Romney said the president’s opposition to fossil fuels and nuclear energy has driven up costs for small businesses across the country.

“The president says he’s ‘all of the above’ when it comes to energy, and I couldn’t figure out what he meant because most of us who follow this topic know that all of the above includes all energy sources,” Romney said. “But he’s anti-coal, anti-oil, anti-natural gas and anti-nuclear. And then I figured he’s for all sources above ground, and all these are below ground.”

Romney also touched on the subject of the federal government’s role in U.S. higher education. Addressing a group of youths near the front of the stage, Romney said he felt it was “immoral” for politicians currently in office to pass the growing national debt onto future generations of Americans. He added that he wanted to create a business environment that offers “great jobs” for college graduates.

Romney also addressed military spending, saying Obama was “comfortable” in cutting $500 million in funding over the next decade. He added that this comes in light of an aging U.S. Air Force, which Romney said was the smallest since its creation in 1947.

Under his presidency, Romney said he would increase the building of U.S. Navy warships from nine to 15 per year along with modernizing the country’s air force.

Before Romney’s rally, members of Allegheny County’s Democratic Party and United Steelworkers Union (USW) held a press conference that cast elements of Romney’s past performances as Massachusetts governor and CEO of Bain Capital in a negative light.

USW District 10 Director John DeFazio said Romney’s record speaks for itself.

“Gov. Romney is hostile to manufacturing and indifferent to the jobs many of us rely on,” DeFazio said. “As governor, his state shed manufacturing jobs at twice the national average, and while at Bain, Romney destroyed manufacturing jobs. His policies as a candidate are just as bad and would be devastating to our workers and their families.”

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly titled Mitt Romney as the Republican presidential nominee. The Pitt News regrets the error.