The number of people signing on the live register fell by 8,889 last month to 140,550, according to the latest data from the Central Statistics Office.
However, after adjusting for seasonal factors, the live register showed a slight rise of 200 in the month. The seasonally-adjusted total rose to 141,400 in September, from 141,200 in August.
The standardised unemployment rate, at 3.7 per cent, was unchanged. In the year to September 2001, the live register fell by 4,382.
While welcoming the fall of almost 9,000 in September, the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Ahern, said the figures had to be viewed with caution.
"The decrease is certainly to be welcomed. However, it is less than normal for this time of year. The decrease in the September live register compares with a decrease of 14,000 for the same period last year," Mr Ahern said.
He said the increase was mainly due to seasonal layoffs in the meat processing industries, the tourism industry and the ending of certain F┴S and community employment schemes.
He added that the indirect impact of the foot-and-mouth crisis and the recent job losses in the technology sector were only beginning to be seen now.
The Labour Party spokesman on Social, Community and Family Affairs, Mr Tommy Broughan, said the Government was not addressing the need to counter the effects of the global economic downturn.
He said recent months had brought thousands of layoffs in the workforce, with more likely to come in the near future as part of the global economic downturn.
"Though such a trend has been visible for some time, the Government has sat on its hands in trying to offset this development. Not one single initiative has been forthcoming from the Tβnaiste, Ms Harney, or any of her colleagues in this area," he said.
The Government needed to introduce specifically targeted retraining and upskilling initiatives for the many thousands of workers laid off in recent months, and to initiate measures to combat the global downturn, he said.
Fine Gael's spokesman on Enterprise and Trade, Mr Charlie Flanagan, warned against complacency. "The figures are masking the true picture that unemployment will start rising again soon," he said.
"The Government has to ensure budgetary policy maximises competitiveness, so that means certain spending aspects have got to be tailored quite tightly. The National Development Plan should perhaps be refocused because the environment we're heading into will undoubtedly put pressure on public finances."
The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed expressed concern at what it called the "shocking comparison" between the 2.9 per cent fall in the live register in the year to September 2001 and a fall of 22 per cent for the same period last year.
"The whole State is aware that, post-September 11th, changes in the economy are likely. However, today's figures prove that the slowdown in Ireland has already begun.
"While we welcome the news that the live register only increased by 200 persons this month, the annual fall, when compared with recent years, is very startling," said Mr Tony Monks, INOU general secretary.
Mr Monks called for changes in the current level of social welfare payments, which he described as inadequate.
