The unemployment rate stood at 4.4% in January, the same level as December following an upward revision, the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office data show today.
The jobless rate has remained between a 21-year low of 4.2% and 4.5% over the last nine months amid a tight labour market.
Today's CSO figures show that the jobless rate of 4.4% in January was lower than the pre-pandemic level of 4.8% recorded in January 2020.
The unemployment rate for men stood at 4.1% in January, down from a revised rate of 4.8% in January last year.
Meanwhile, the jobless rate stood at 4.7% for women last month, down from a rate of 5% the same time last year.
The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed stood at 118,300 in January, down from 119,100 in December 2022.
There was a decrease of 10,300 in the seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed in January 2023 when compared with a year earlier, it added.
But the youth unemployment rate moved up to 10.4% in January from a revised rate of 10.2% in December 2022.
Jack Kennedy, economist at global job site Indeed, said the country's labour market started the year on broadly the same note as it ended last year amid an unstable macro-economic outlook.
He noted that although there was a slight decrease in the number of people unemployed, the overall unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.4%.
"With January traditionally being a popular month to start job searching, the labour market remains tight and recruitment conditions continue to be challenging for many employers," Mr Kennedy said.
"Indeed's data continues to show employers actively hiring, with the level of Irish job postings on Indeed up 64% on 27 January 2023 compared to 1 February 2020," he said.
"Staff shortages remain one of the most pressing issues for many employers. Targeting unemployed young people and long-term unemployed could be part of the solution to a tight labour market. Youth unemployment has struggled in recent years to drop to and stay in single figure digits," he added.
