New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in October fell to 7.7% from 7.9% in September to reach an eight year low.

The CSO said the seasonally adjusted number of unemployed in October fell to 168,800, down 29,700 on the same time last year.

It noted that the jobless rate for men stood at 9% last month, down from 10.8% the same time last year.

The unemployment rate for women eased to 6.2% from 7.3% in October of last year.

And the youth unemployment rate fell to 15.1% in October of this year from 15.9% the same time last year.

Ireland's jobless rate compares with a current euro zone average of about 10%.

Employment has increased here strongly amid a broadening economic recovery since the jobless rate hit a high of 15.1% in early 2012.

Commenting on today's figures, Merrion economist Alan McQuaid said that with the economy still growing at a healthy pace, an average jobless rate of 8.1% is now envisaged for 2016, down from 9.5% in 2015.

A rate of 7.5% is currently projected for 2017, the economist said. But he added that the outlook from next year on is more uncertain in light of the Brexit vote in the UL.

"Increased labour market participation will also impact on the overall numbers. Still, we expect the downward trend in unemployment to continue over the next twelve months, albeit at a slower pace than before," Mr McQuaid said.