The number of people signing on the live register fell by more than 3,000 in March, according to figures released this morning by the Central Statistics Office (CS0).
When seasonally adjusted however, the figures show unemployment increasing by 500 on the February figures.
The unadjusted figures show the number of people on the March live register fell by 3,335 to 169,059.
The standardised unemployment rate of 4.5 per cent was unchanged from the February figure.
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The CSO said the unadjusted decrease of 3,335 on the Live Register reflected falls in all regions of the country.
The largest percentage decrease was in the Midlands, which saw a 3.4 per cent and the lowest decrease was in the border region which saw a fall of 1.3 per cent.