Unemployment fell sharply last month, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office. They show a 3,500 fall in the live register in November, bringing the seasonally adjusted register to 158,600, an estimated 4.3 per cent of the labour force.

The live register has fallen sharply in recent months, indicating a healthy jobs market and a recovery in economic growth. In November, the live register was 12,500 below the month last year.

The monthly decrease in the seasonally adjusted series was made up of 2,000 females and 1,500 males. Unemployment showed a monthly fall in seven of the eight regions , with the exception being the south-west, where there was a small rise of 112 people to 21,535, representing a rise of 0.5 per cent.

The largest percentage decrease - 1.6 per cent - was in the midland region. On a county basis, the largest percentage decreases during the month were Laois and Kilkenny.

The latest unemployment figures follow other recent positive indicators on the jobs market, including strong rises in the income tax take and a drop in redundancy levels, which are running 11 per cent below 2003 levels.

In a comment on the figures, Mr Jim Power, chief economist at Friends First, said that "Ireland can now be described as being as close to full employment as is almost physically possible." Employers are once again reporting some difficulties in recruiting workers, he said, "and most people willing and able to take a job are in employment".

The jobless rate fell as low as 3.7 per cent at the peak of the boom in early 2001. It rose as high as 4.8 per cent last year, but has fallen steadily in recent months.