The jobs picture looks a little brighter in Illinois today. Illinois unemployment figures were released today and while the state’s unemployment rate for April was 11.2 percent, it represents a 0.3 point dip from the month before.

That drop, coupled with the fact that Illinois has been adding jobs – 51,500 so far this year – is an encouraging sign, one that has Illinois Department of Employment Security Director Maureen O’Donnell saying:

“The job market in both the nation and Illinois is beginning to show signs of improvement. Four straight months of job growth provides cautious optimism that the effects of the national recession on the state’s labor market might be softening.”

Jobs are the key to a stronger economy and ultimately, a housing market rebound.

At the National Association of REALTORS® Midyear Legislative Meetings and Expo, both Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, and Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder of Moody’s Economy.com, both said they expect job creation this year.

Zandi said he expects the national unemployment rate to begin leveling off from 9.9 percent this year, dropping to 7 percent by 2012. Full employment is typically 5.5 percent, Zandi said.

Without the federal homebuyer tax credit, job creation and consumer confidence will be vital to a recovering housing market, says Yun, who expects two million jobs created this year, but says it could take six years to return to normal, economic job creation.