New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the unemployment rate moved up to 4.4% in April from a revised figure of 4.1% in March.
The provisional figure for March had been 4.3%.
Unemployment in April of last year had stood at 4.1%.
A survey of manufacturing activity released with the AIB S&P Global manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) earlier today showed that staffing numbers stagnated in April due to sluggish demand, ending a three-month stretch of modest job creation.
Today's CSO figures show that the unemployment rate for men was 4.1%, while it stood at 4.7% for women in April.
The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of people who were unemployed stood at 124,200 in April, compared with 115,400 in March 2024.
There was an increase of 9,900 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in April compared to a year earlier, it added.
Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate increased to 10.6% in April, from a revised rate of 9.2% the previous month.
Commenting on today's figures, Jack Kennedy, senior economist at hiring platform Indeed, said that while up slightly, the unemployment rate remains well below 5%, a level it has not been above since December 2021, just a month before the Government lifted all Covid-19 restrictions.
"This is a remarkably strong performance by a country that is continuing to achieve steady economic growth despite a dip in the final quarter of 2023," Mr Kennedy said.
He noted that recent figures showed that the Irish economy returned to growth in the first quarter of this year as activity in the technology sector increased.
"The rebound in the technology sector's activity, while a boost to the economy, has not yet been reflected in increased job opportunities," the economist said.
"Indeed's data shows the number of job postings in key technology sectors such as IT operations & helpdesk, information design & documentation and software development remain in decline or flat," he said.
Jack Kennedy noted that jobs postings in software development at the end of March were 41% below pre-pandemic levels recorded on February 1, 2020.
The same figure for IT operations & helpdesk was 36% and it was also 36% for information design & documentation, he added.
"Indeed's data also shows a continuing gradual decline in the level of overall job postings, which could indicate that the unemployment rate is likely to continue to rise slightly over the coming months," he cautioned.
