Just over 169,500 people were on the Live Register in February, according to the Central Statistics Office, up 4,200 year-on-year.
The number represents a 2.5% increase on February 2025, though it was down slightly on the number of claimants recorded in January.
Male claimants represented almost all of the year-on-year increase, with the figure rising by 4,192 to 95,931.
Men made up 56.5% of total claimants in the month, according to the CSO.
There was also a more-than 10% increase in the number of under 25s on the Live Register in February.
That age cohort made up 12.3% of all claimants in February, according to the data.
Dublin was the county to see the biggest percentage increase, up 8.9% year-on-year, while the number claiming in Wicklow was up 6.1%.
Monaghan saw the biggest percentage decrease, down 8.3%, followed by Laois, which recorded a 4.7% decline.
According to the CSO, 53,179 people on the Live Register in February had been claimants for a year or more - which was down 3,482 or 6.1% year-on-year.
