Most of the 16,700 jobs added during May in Illinois may have been temporary census positions, but in a state that has been starved for economic good news since well before the recession began, they were welcome.

More significantly for Illinois, May was the fifth month in a row to see positive job growth. Further, the 3-month moving average of unemployment also fell by .2 percent to 11.2 percent. That may not sound especially impressive, but the latest round of figures marked the first time that the moving average has declined since 2006.

“Five months of positive job growth,” said Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Maureen O’Donnell, “coupled with two consecutive months of declines in the unemployment rate offer reasons for cautious optimism.”