New figures from the CSO show there were just over 33,000 fewer people out of work at the start of this year when compared with the same period in 2016.
The unemployment rate is down to 6.4%.
68,000 jobs were created in the 12 months to the end of March, and more than 19,000 of those were in the first quarter of this year.
The construction and information and communication sectors are now showing the biggest increases in job creation.
Economist Seamus Coffey says the number of people in full time employment is continuing to rise.
"We are seeing a reduction in the number of long-term unemployed, possibly because that might be related to construction activity.
"The biggest job losses we saw were for those with construction-related skills and that's slowly coming back, albeit still at a low level, but it is rising so that can bring down the long-term unemployment rate," he said.