State agency FÁS's latest report says that while there is evidence that unemployment figures have begun to stabilise, it is not yet certain that they have stopped rising.
In its latest quarterly labour market report, FÁS says it expects the unemployment rate to average 13.4% this year, falling only slightly to 13.1% in 2011. But it says any fall will be due to continued emigration and fewer people in the labour force.
It also warns that the number of long-term unemployed is set to keep increasing significantly.
The agency also says a pick-up in employment growth is likely to be delayed, if a recovery in the overall economy is led by the less labour-intensive export sector.
FÁS says the number of people in work has fallen by 250,000 since the recession started, with construction and retail accounting for the biggest drops.
But it says part-time employment is rising, suggesting that many companies are cutting costs by reducing hours rather than laying off workers completely.
FÁS says redundancies are down 20% from this time last year but are still well above levels recorded in the years before 2009.
It adds that job vacancies are 16% up on the same period last year, but remain at 'depressed' levels compared with the pre-recession period.
