Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people signing on the Live Register fell again in November after falls in October and September.
The CSO says the seasonally-adjusted figure fell by 4,200 in November to stand at 438,800.
The CSO says the headline figure fell by 4,551 to stand at 425,002.
The unemployment rate in November eased to 13.5% from 13.6% in October.
The Live Register includes some part-time seasonal and casual workers.
It is not designed to measure unemployment, but is regarded as the most up-to-date figures on the state of the jobs market.
Economists say the figures are encouraging, but warn that a big improvement in employment is still some months away.
They also say the job market appears to be stabilising, though they add that emigration may also be a factor in the recent falls.
The number of people signing on for more than a year, however, rose by more than 2,700 last month, and long-term claimants now make up a third of the total number of people on the Live Register.
New figures also show a drop in the number of redundancies notified to the Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment in the first 11 months of this year.
55,910 lay-offs were recorded with the department up to the end of November, down 23% compared with the 72,880 in the same period in 2009.
Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív said the figures are 'further evidence that the Live Register is stabilising'.
He said: 'The Live Register has risen in November in each of the last five years but this year sees the first November fall since 2004. The scale of the fall is positive too as it is the biggest November fall since 1999.
'However, unemployment levels remain high and job protection, job creation and productivity growth are the Government's key concerns.'
