New figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the country’s unemployment rate fell to 3.9% in April from a revised 4% a month earlier to match the previous record low of the early 2000s.
The jobless rate had remained between 4.2% and 4.5% over the last year, according to recent CSO figures.
But the rate in February and March were revised down to 4.1% and 4% respectively today, the CSO said.
The unemployment rate was last at 3.9% between October 2000 and April 2001.
Unemployment had stood at a rate of 4.6% in April of last year.
The CSO said today that the unemployment rate for men in April was 4.3%, while it was 3.6% for women.
The youth unemployment rate eased to 7.9% in April from a revised rate of 8.9% in March, it added.
Andrew Webb, chief economist at Grant Thornton Ireland, said with unemployment now below 4%, there are 15,000 fewer people unemployed than a year ago.
“This is exceptional performance in the context of the economic challenges faced over the past number of years,” he said.
“A note of caution is still required however, as continuing cost of living pressures and ongoing global uncertainty are still weighing on consumer sentiment which softened a little in the last month,” he added.
Article Source: Unemployment falls to match previous record low of 3.9% – CSO – RTE