New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for February fell to 4.2% from the rate of 4.5% recorded in January.
The jobless rate was up slightly from 4.1% in February of last year.
Unemployment had fallen to a near record low of 4.1% early last year after the economy rebounded sharply from the Covid-19 pandemic but increased gradually during 2023 as economic growth moderated.
The CSO said the unemployment rate for men stood at 3.9% in February, down from the revised rates of 4.3% the month before and also the same month last year.
The jobless rate for women was 4.5%, also lower than the revised rate of 4.8% the previous month but up from a rate of 3.9% in February 2022.
Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate dropped to 10.5% in February from the revised rate of 11.7% in January.
Today's CSO figures show that the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed stood 119,300 in February, down from 129,300 people in January.
There was an increase of 6,500 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in February when compared with a year earlier, the CSO added.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at global jobs platform Indeed, said that despite challenges such as geopolitical uncertainty and a global economic slowdown, the labour market remains robust.
The economist said that low unemployment levels have driven strong consumer spending, supporting the domestic economy amid a slowdown in multinational exports.
He noted that for employers in many sectors, recruiting staff is likely to remain difficult for now, especially at a time when wage growth has slowed, suggesting many are simply not in a position to offer would-be recruits higher salaries.
Irish job postings on Indeed remain 16% above pre-pandemic levels at the end of February, but this is down from 23% in January and is the same level recorded in December 2023.
He said the Irish labour market remains tight despite the positive news of record participation levels, especially among women.
