New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people signing on the Live Register in July fell by 2,300.
This brings the seasonally adjusted total to 437,300.
The CSO said the unemployment rate stood at 14.8% last month, unchanged from the June reading.
It noted that the trend in the overall Live Register continues to be ''one of movement within a small range''.
Today's figures show that the number of men on the Live Register fell by 800 in July, while women on the dole decreased by 1,600.
In unadjusted terms, there were 460,323 people signing on the dole in July, down 9,961 or 2.1% on the same time last year.
