The unemployment rate fell to 14.6% in November, down from 14.7% the previous month.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of people on the Live Register was 432,300 in November - a monthly decrease of 1,500.
The number of long term claimants in November increased on an annual basis by 3.7% to 186,562.
The number of male long term claimants increased by 1,358 (+1.0%) in the year to November, while the comparable increase for females was 5,314 (+10.7%).
In November 55.3% (230,715) of all claimants on the Live Register were short term claimants.
The comparable figure for November 2011 was 58.1% (249,677).
In the year to November, the number of under-25s on the Live Register decreased by 1.1%.
Annual decreases in that age cohort have been continuous each month since July 2010.
The percentage of under 25s on the Register now stands at 16.1%, down from 17.6% in November 2011 and 18.9% in November 2010.
Reacting to the figures, Alan McQuaid, Chief Economist with Merrion Stockbrokers said the process of tackling the unemployment problem would be slow.
"It will be a number of years before the jobless rate falls back into single digits. The average unemployment rate in 2011 was 14.6% and is expected to be higher this year at 14.8%, though this is forecast to be the worst of it. We are looking for some improvement in 2013 with the average jobless rate projected to fall back to 14.3%," he said.
Mark Fielding of the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association said the level of youth emigration was disguising an unemployment crisis.
"The key to a return to growth is consumer confidence, which will be restored through increased jobs but will only happen when business costs are curtailed. The Budget is an ideal mechanism for creating an environment in which SMEs can be financially encouraged to increase employment," he said.
