The unemployment rate has fallen by 0.2% to 7.3% for November, when compared with October.

New figures from the Central Statistics Office also show the rate of unemployment is 1.8% lower than it was at the same time last year, with 36,200 more people now at work.

The unemployment rate has now fallen for six consecutive months and is down from a post-crisis high of 15.2% at the beginning of 2012.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, 160,700 people were unemployed in November, down from 164,100 the previous month.

The unemployment rate during the month for men was 8.3%, while the corresponding figure for women was 6.1%.

Meanwhile, according to the CSO the youth unemployment rate (people aged 15-24) fell by 0.9% to 15.5% in November.



Commenting on the figures, Alan McQuaid from Merrion Economics said: "Although emigration has been a factor to some degree in keeping unemployment down since the financial crisis, the labour market has improved dramatically in recent years, reflecting the strengthening of the economic recovery.

"Indeed, the most recent migration estimates showed net inward migration of 3,100 in the year to April 2016 as against net outward migration of 11,600 in 2015, and the first positive figure since 2009," he added.