There was a slight increase in the seasonally adjusted Live Register figure for December, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The seasonally adjusted total rose by 300 from November to 156,600. This was the third increase in a row, but the figure is still 400 lower than in December 2005.
The headline figure was up 6,860 to 155,389. The unemployment rate was 4.5%.
There were unadjusted monthly increases in all regions in December, with the biggest percentage rise of 7.1% in the Mid-West, with the smallest - 3.1% - in the Dublin area.
