There was a record increase in the number of people signing on the dole for unemployment payments last month as the slowdown in the economy continued.
The Live Register figures for January published by the Central Statistics office showed that when seasonal employment patterns are taken into account, the underlying increase in unemployment during February was 8,500.
This brought the numbers on Social Welfare to their highest level for eight and a half years.
Today's jobless figure is further bad news for the Government coming just three days after the Department of Finance revealed that tax receipts during February were more than €500m behind target as a result of the economic slowdown.
The Live Register shows there was a total of 189,485 people on social welfare and receiving either unemployment payments or credits at the end of last month.
7,000 of the 8,500 were male, which is being interpreted as a sign that more construction workers signing on as the building industry slows.
The Live Register is not regarded as a measure of unemployment, as it also includes part-time workers and seasonal workers entitled to benefits or allowances.
The standardised unemployment rate hit 5.2% in February, which was up from 5% in January.
