The number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell by 600 in March, according to the latest Live Register.
The seasonally adjusted total of claimants fell from 157,600 in February to 157,000 in March.
There has been a gradual decrease in claimants over the past 12 months leading to an unadjusted decrease of 2,132 since March 2005.
Although the Live Register is not an accurate gauge of unemployment as it includes part-time workers, the standardised unemployment rate in March was 4.5 per cent.
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The standardised rate is calculated by adjusting the Quarterly National Household Survey for monthly changes.