Ireland's jobless rate rose to the highest since August last year, figures from the Central Statistics Office showed on Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate rose to 5.5 percent in March from 5.2 percent in February and January. In the same month last year, the unemployment rate was 7.7 percent.
A similar rate of unemployment was last seen in August.
The seasonally adjusted number of unemployed increased to 146,400 persons in March from 135,200 in the preceding month.
The youth unemployment rate, which applies to the 15-24 age group, fell to 12.3 percent in March from 12.7 percent in the prior month.
