The unemployment rate remained at a 10-year low of 5.3 per cent last month, new official figures show.

On an annual basis the jobless rate was down from 6.2 per cent in December, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

The seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed during the month was 127,100, as against down from 127,700 versus November, and from 147,100 in December 2017.

Unemployed

The figures show there were 68,400 men and 58,700 women unemployed in December.

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The youth unemployment rate continues to fall, dropping to 12.2 per cent from 12.3 per cent in November.

The statistics also reveal that employment rose in ten of the fourteen economic sectors surveyed on an annual basis in the third quarter with the greatest rates of increase in construction, which was up 13.9 per cent.

"The average jobless rate was 5.7 per cent in 2018, down from 6.7 per cent in 2017. A further fall, to 5 per cent, is envisaged for 2019, with a net increase in employment of around 50,000," said Alan McQuaid, chief economist at Merrion Capital.