There was a 3.3% increase in the combined number of people on the Live Register or receiving the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) in January, according to the Central Statistics Office.
The combined figure, which accounts for overlaps between Live Register and the PUP, stood 237,141 in January, up from 229,653 in December.
The PUP was reopened to those who lost their jobs from the reintroduction of certain Covid-related restrictions in December.
The numbers receiving the PUP rose from 66,901 in December to 75,413 in January.
The numbers on the Live Register fell from a seasonally adjusted 166,900 in December to 164,000 in January.
In addition, there were 274,431 people whose jobs were supported by the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) in December.
This brought the combined Live Register, PUP and EWSS number to 491,740 compared to 805,270 in December 2020, the CSO said.
According to the latest figures from Revenue released last week, there were 229,800 employees supported by the EWSS up to January 27.
The CSO also reported the number of people attending activation programmes, which helps those on the Live Register get back to work, rose by 10.5% in December to 45,068.
These people are not counted as part of the Live Register.
The CSO noted that in January, 72,647 people on the Live Register were on it for over a year.
