Ireland's unemployment rate for January this year was 8.6 percent, the lowest level in seven years, according to official figures on Tuesday.
This is down from 10.1 percent the same month last year, the Central Statistics Office (CSO) said. The unemployment rate in December stood at 8.8 percent. The CSO said the number of persons unemployed was 186,700 in January 2016, a decrease of 3,000 when compared to the December 2015 figure or a decrease of 30,500 when compared to January 2015. Irish State Minister for Business and Employment, Ged Nash, welcomed these new unemployment figures, saying that these month on month decreases are "no accident or lucky chance."
"While the unemployment rate is still too high, there are welcome signs that youth unemployment is steadily declining," he said. "We have an ambitious goal to ensure that everyone who wants a job, can get a job by 2018 and the figures published by the CSO today shows that while there is much more work to do, we are on the right track," he added.
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