The number of people unemployed in the second quarter of this year was 81,400, down from 84,900 in the first quarter, according to the Central Statistics Office's Quarterly National Household Survey.
But the CSO says there was only a slight fall of 200 in the number of people unemployed when seasonal factors are taken into account.
The number of people in work rose slightly to just under 1.8 million, up by 28,400 on the same period last year. This resulted in an unemployment rate of 4.4%, down from 4.6% in the first quarter.
The CSO says part-time jobs accounted for a higher proportion of employment growth than in previous periods.
A breakdown of the figures shows that the largest annual increases were in health, hotels and restaurants, and construction. There was an increase of almost 6,000 in the number of part-time workers employed in hotels and restaurants.
The number of people employed in public service areas rose by 17,200 in the year, but this was sharply lower than the annual increase of 27,300 in the first quarter.
Chief economist at IIB Bank Austin Hughes said that the data paints a fairly encouraging picture of the Irish economy. He said the figures suggest numbers at work continued to rise, with increased employment in the public sector augmented by more part time jobs in the private sector.
He said the increasing importance of part time work probably reflects lifestyle choices as well as a response to tougher economic conditions.
‘Importantly, this also hints at a measure of flexibility in work practices that may suggest the Irish economy will weather the recent international downturn better than many had feared,’ Hughes said.
Meanwhile, Small Firms Association director Pat Delaney said that the employment figures showed 'remarkable resilience' and said the fall in toe overall unemployment rate to 4.4% was 'welcome and unexpected' news.
