New figures from Eurostat show that unemployment in Ireland has fallen slightly, with the average rate now standing at 14.5% up to March of this year.
That figure marks a fall of 0.2% on the same figure last September.
The average unemployment rate across the EU now stands at 10.2% compared to 9.4% in March 2011.
Spain has the highest unemployment rate (24.1%) in the EU, followed by Greece (21.7%), Portugal (15.3%), Latvia (14.7%) and Ireland (14.5%).