The unemployment rate has risen to 5.1 per cent, the highest level in just under nine years, according to the latest quarterly national household survey from the Central Statistics Office.
The survey indicates that when seasonal factors are taken into account there were 115,500 people classified as unemployed in the economy in second quarter of 2008, an increase of 15,200 in the year.
This represents an increase of 0.3 per cent (or 7,700) on the 4.8 per cent rate for the first quarter and is the highest level recorded since 1999.
The key component appears to be the continued slowdown in the construction sector which witnessed a decrease of 26,800 or 9.5 per cent in the year to the second quarter, compared with an annual growth rate of 6.3 per cent to the second quarter of 2007.
All of the growth in unemployment was attributable to an increase in male unemployment which rose by 18,000 in the year compared to female unemployment fell by 2,800.
The total number of workers in the labour force in the second quarter of 2008 was 2,223,900, an increase of 22,000 or 1 per cent over the year.
This compares with an annual labour force growth of 4.2 per cent or 88,000 in the second quarter of last year.
The CSO said the overall participation rate in the economy for the second quarter of 2008 was 63.4 per cent, compared to 63.7 per cent for the second quarter of 2007.
The survey shows that while part-time employment grew by 11,100 over the year, this was offset by a decrease in full-time employment which fell by 4,300.
There was an increase of 4,900 in the number of males in part-time employment while the number of females increased by 6,200 over the year.
The CSO said that broad estimates indicated there were 484,000 non-Irish nationals aged 15 and over in the State in the second quarter of this year.
Of these 337,800 were in employment, while a further 24,800 were unemployed, it said.
This gave rise to a total non-Irish national labour force of 362,500, up 25,700 (or 7.6 per cent) in the year, less than half the annual growth for the same period last year.
Nationals of the new EU accession states were the fastest-growing group in the labour force increasing by 16,900. Non-Irish nationals now account for 16.3 per cent of the labour force compared to 15.3 per cent in the same quarter in 2007.