The state's unemployment rate is moving in the right direction. The Illinois jobless rate was down slightly last month to five-point-four-percent from five-point-seven in January. Department of Employment Security spokesman Bob Gough says the state also saw some healthy job growth.
He said there was a significant increase in the non-farm payroll and a boost in construction jobs because of the mild winter.
Gough says it's the first time in 17 years that Illinois has seen these kinds of employment numbers, although manufacturing jobs are still down. The national jobless rate for February was four-point-seven-percent.
