A further 1,200 people came off the live register in January, bringing the number in receipt of benefits down to 171,300 on a seasonally-adjusted basis. In December the figure had stood at 172,500.

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) broadly reflect the low unemployment rate detailed in separate CSO data, published last week, which put the headline jobless rate at 4.7 per cent.

In unadjusted terms, this represents an increase of 5,439 people or 3.3 per cent when compared with January 2025.

While the register is not an accurate barometer of unemployment as people with part-time work can be entitled to benefits, it does track trends in the labour market.

The 25-34 years age group made up the largest number of those on January’s register at 41,139 people or 24.1 per cent.

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Some 20,960 people under the age of 25 were on the live register in January 2026, accounting for 12.3 per cent of all claimants. This compared with a figure of 19,870 on the register in December 2025, which was 11.5 per cent of all claimants that month.

The counties that recorded the largest percentage increases in the number of people on the register in the 12 months to January were Dublin (+10.1 per cent) and Wicklow (+6.9 per cent), while the largest decreases were in Donegal (-4 per ecnt) and Monaghan (-3.7 per cent).

Separately, the ​Sentix index measuring investor morale in the euro zone ‍rose unexpectedly in February, its third consecutive monthly gain and ‍its highest level since July 2025, a survey showed on Monday.

The index rose to 4.2 points in ‌February from -1.8 the month before, beating forecasts by analysts.

“The ​recession ‍in the euro zone appears to have come to an end and an upturn seems to have ⁠begun,” said Sentix in a press release.

The survey ⁠of 1,091 investors taken ⁠from February 5th-7th showed that both economic expectations and current expectations ‍rising.

Expectations rose to 15.8 from 10.0 in the previous month, while the index measuring the current situation also grew to -6.8 from -13.0 in January. – Additional reporting by Reuters