The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said that although the fall in jobless numbers is welcome, it cannot disguise continued high levels of long-term and youth unemployment.
Congress Assistant General Secretary, Sally Anne Kinahan said: "It is good news that we have seen an increase in the numbers of work as there can be no recovery without job creation.
"But we need to be clear that much of the current reduction stems from an increase in self-employment and part time work, which people often turn to when full time work is unavailable.
"In addition, the figures for youth and the long-term unemployed are chronic, with youth unemployment at almost 27% and the long-term jobless figure close to 62% of the total numbers out of work.
'that represents policy failure on a huge scale and sees one segment of society becoming entirely detached from the workforce and another left with few options except emigration. Indeed, it is probable the fall in the labour force is almost entirely due to outward migration," Ms Kinahan said.
"Underemployment is also on the rise, with some 155,000 people now experiencing involuntary part time work. This creates economic hardship and particularly affects women. Over a third of those working part time are now underemployed.
'this is no basis for a secure, long-term recovery. Self-defeating austerity has decimated domestic demand and continues to cost us jobs. It undermines all prospects of recovery. Only a significant programme of investment can give a genuine boost to job creation," she said.
"Any such programme must specifically target the long-term unemployed and the young with measures designed to get them back to work.
"For example, a Youth Guarantee would be a real opportunity to provide high quality training, good qualifications, on the job learning, and real work experience for young people."
Mr Kinahan said Ireland could embrace the "alternance"* model of training for youth, that has proven so successful in Germany.
"It would be an ideal model to properly train and upskill those working in the childcare sector, which we now know to be suffering significant skill and service deficits.
*Note The German "dual system" is a good example of "alternance" vocational education and training, which offers a combination of training periods in an educational institution and in the workplace. It takes the form of an apprenticeship scheme where the apprentice is contractually linked to the employer and receives a wage. The German system has a large scope and gives access to about 340 different occupations. Policymakers" interest in the German dual system has soared in recent years in light of Germany's strong performance on youth employment. The benefits of the dual system are widely acknowledged, both for apprentices and employers
