The monthly unemployment rate fell to 4.9% in November from 5% in October, new figures the Central Statistics Office show today.
The CSO said that on an annual basis, the unemployment rate increased from 4.2% in November of last year.
Today's figures show that the monthly unemployment rate for men in November was 4.9%, down from 5% in October and up from 4.5% the same month last year.
The monthly unemployment rate for women was 5%, unchanged from the October rate, and up from 3.9% in November 2024.
Meanwhile, the monthly youth unemployment rate stood at 13.4%, unchanged from the previous month.
The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed people stood at 144,400 in November, down from 47,100 in October 2025.
There was an increase of 23,200 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed in November of this year compared with November 2024, the CSO added.
Jack Kennedy, senior economist at hiring platform Indeed, said the return to below 5% comes amid signs that the softer Irish labour market has had an effect on overall unemployment levels, but that the picture is stabilising.
He noted that the unemployment rate rose above 5% to 5.1% in Septebmer for the first time since December 2021. Revised figures also show it reached 5% in July of this year for the first time since January 2022.
"The increase has prompted a new focus on the CSO's monthly report but is unlikely to cause too much concern in the medium-term unless the overall rate of unemployment continues to trend upwards to a greater extent over the coming months," Jack Kennedy said.
"It is worth nothing that forecasts in December 2024 predicted the unemployment rate would increase to 5% by the end of 2025 before steadying again. Ireland's economy continues to perform well with projections for GDP growth of 0.2% in 2026 and 2.9% in 2027," he added.
