Official figures show that the number of people at work in the economy continued to fall in the second quarter of this year, though at a slower pace than in previous quarters.
The Central Statistics Office's quarterly national household survey also showed a sharp rise in the number of long-term unemployed.
The CSO said the number of people in work in the second quarter was just under 1.86 million, down 4.1% from a year earlier. This was the smallest annual drop since the final three months of 2008.
Compared with first three months of 2010, the number in work fell by 7,600, the smallest quarterly fall in more than two years.
The number of people unemployed in the second quarter was 293,600, up 29,000 or 11% from a year earlier. Though this was also the smallest annual increase for two years, the number of people out of work for more than a year jumped by 69,700 in the year to 127,000.
The long-term unemployment rate now stands at 5.9%, compared with just 2.6% a year earlier. The overall unemployment rate now stands at 13.2%, compared with 12.9% in the last survey.
Construction employment shows biggest fall
The CSO figures show that the largest decline in employment was recorded in the construction sector. Construction employment has now fallen 54% since its peak in the second quarter of 2007. The second largest decline in employment was recorded in the industry sector.
Fewer people are working full-time, the survey found. Employment in the professional category actually rose over the year to the end of June, but all other occupational groups showed a decline in employment, with the largest decreases coming in the craft and related sector.
The figures also show there are fewer non-Irish nationals participating in the labour force. In the second quarter there were 15% fewer non-Irish nationals working here than in the previous quarter.
The rate of unemployment was highest among those with lower levels of educational attainment, standing at 15.4% at the end of the quarter.
Big fall in immigration - CSO
New figures from the CSO also show that emigration from Ireland in the year to the end of April remained constant, while the numbers of people coming into the country fell sharply.
Taken together, the changes led to net outward migration of 34,500 in April 2010 compared with the same month last year. This is the highest level of net outward migration since 1989.
The figures also show that the level of emigration among Irish nationals increased significantly in the year to the end of April. During the same period, the level of emigration among non-Irish nationals actually fell, with the bulk of the decrease being accounted for by nationals from the EU12 states.
Separate CSO figures showed that factory gate prices rose 0.2% in August from July, leading to an annual increase of 0.5%. The biggest monthly price rise of 2.3% was for electrical equipment.
Prices of building materials rose 0.2% in the month and are up 4.3% over 12 months. But prices of energy products dropped 0.2% in August, with a 0.4% fall in petrol fuels. Energy and petrol prices are up 4% and 12.9% respectively over the year.
