Washington's September jobless rate dropped two-tenths of a percent to 9.1 percent, said the Employment Security Department on Wednesday.

Even so, the slight drop is accompanied by the loss of 18,400 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Construction lost the most in the past month, dropping by 1,800 jobs statewide.

The state manufacturing sector enjoyed the largest job gains over August, with an estimated 800 jobs added. Education and health services and professional and business services also reported growth.

Total nonfarm jobs are about 27,000 higher in September 2011 than one year ago, the ESD also reported.

Specific county numbers will be released next Tuesday.

To study the numbers, here's the ESD link.

While the most recent monthly jobless numbers from Washington are not whoop-worthy, the economy is not totally in the tank.

The post below summarizes the key data, including that Washington state lost a net 700 jobs in May.

Still, the May 2011 unemployment rate is 0.5 percent less than the May 2010 rate of 9.6 percent, according to the state Employment Security Department summary.

The other upbeat item: Robert Half International, a staffing company with offices across the country, noted that 11 percent of executives in Washington anticipate hiring full-time staff in the third quarter.

The survey also said about 98 percent of the execs surveyed expressed “confidence in their companies' growth” for the coming rest of the year. More than 4,000 executives nationwide were surveyed, and 65 were in Washington state, according to a Robert Half press release.

The state's largest employment drops in May came in wholesale trade, which recorded a loss of 2,100 jobs. Other areas that suffered included retail trade (down 1,600), financial activities (down 900) and transportation (down 600).