Ireland's unemployment rate is now the lowest in the 12-member euro zone, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.
The lowest euro zone jobless rates were registered in Ireland at 4.3 per cent, Luxembourg at 4.4 per cent and Austria at 4.5 per cent.
Unemployment in the euro zone remained steady at 8.8 per cent in January from December, with 12.7 million people out of work.
The jobless rate in the euro zone's largest economy, Germany, rose to 9.6 per cent in January while it was steady at 9.7 per cent in France. The highest rate was in Spain at 10.3 per cent.
In the 25-nation EU, jobless rates were generally higher in the mostly ex-communist countries that joined the bloc last May, with Poland and Slovakia recording 18.2 per cent and 16.5 per cent, respectively.
Eurostat said it had revised down the euro zone December rate to 8.8 per cent from a previous estimate of 8.9 per cent.