New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the seasonally adjusted Live Register total for December fell by 0.3% from November.
The CSO said a total of 173,900 people were on the Live Register in December, down by 500 people on the previous month.
The unadjusted Live Register total stood at 173,003 people, it added.
The CSO noted that the 35-44 age group made up the largest number of those on the Live Register in December at 40,984 people or 23.7% of the total.
Three counties saw an increase in the number of people on the Live Register in the 12 months to December 2023 - Meath (5.6%), Laois (1.1%) and Leitrim (1%).
Today's figures show that 110,708 people were on the Live Register for less than one year, representing a decrease of 12,268 over the 12 months since December 2022.
Meanwhile, 22,369 people getting the EU's Temporary Protection Directive were included in the Live Register figures for December 2023, a rise of 364 people from November.
The Live Register is not designed to measure unemployment as it includes part-time workers as well as seasonal and casual workers who are entitled to Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance.
Figures earlier this week from the CSO showed that the country's unemployment rate rose to 4.9% in December, up from 4.8% in November
