New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that 20 more people signed on to the Live Register in February compared to January. The register now stands at a total of 436,956.
When seasonal factors are taken into account, the Live Register actually fell by 2,300 to stand at 432,400 from 434,700 in January.
The CSO says that in the year to February 2010, there was an unadjusted increase in the Live Register of 84,503 - up 24%. This compares with an increase of 110,664 (33.9%) in the year to January 2010.
The seasonally-adjusted January figure had been the biggest increase since August of last year.
Men accounted for 2,000 of the February decrease, while 300 women lost their jobs last month.
The estimated unemployment rate eased to 12.6% last month from 12.7% in January.
However, ISME has described the latest redundancy figures as worrying and an indication that the economy is still on the slide.
