The unemployment rate hit an all-time low of 3.8% in May, falling below the previous record of 3.9% hit in April 2001, new Central Statistics Office figures show today.
Unemployment had stood at 4.2% the same month last year.
The CSO said the unemployment rate for men stood at 4.1% in May and 3.4% for women.
The youth unemployment rate eased to 6.9% in May from a revised rate of 7.7% in April.
Today's figures show that the seasonally adjusted number of people without a job stood at 103,300 in May, down from 106,500 in April.
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They also show a decrease of 8,700 in the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed in May when compared with a year earlier.
The seasonally adjusted number of men who were unemployed was down to 60,000 in May, compared with 61,200 in April.
The seasonally adjusted number of women unemployed fell to 43,300 from the 45,400 reported in April.
Commenting on today's figures, Jack Kennedy, senior economist at hiring platform Indeed, said the unemployment rate was last at 3.9% between October 2000 and April 2001 - at the height of the Celtic Tiger.
"Any rate below 4% signals that the country is at "full employment". The rate of unemployment has never been recorded at less than 3.9% before," the economist said.
He said the record figures are impressive and a sign of a strong performing Irish economy despite other pressures, such as the rising cost of living.
But he added that a record low in the unemployment rate can create a new set of challenges, however, as employers in certain sectors will likely have some tough hiring challenges ahead.
"Recent Indeed data shows that some jobs in engineering and construction are particularly difficult to fill right now," he added.
