The number of people out of work in the State rose again in June, according to the latest live register figures for the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The Live Register increased by 9,333 in June to stand at 164,277 and in the year to date, there has been an increase of 23,412 people on the Live Register.
When seasonally adjusted, the monthly total on the Live Register increased by 2,300 in June, from 161,300 to 163,600.
The standardised unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent, up from 4.2 per cent in May.
Labour Party spokesperson on enterprise, trade and employment, Mr Tommy Broughan said over 200,000 people would be out of work by the end of the year if the trend continued.
"Unemployment at this level should not be regarded as being acceptable. We need a far more focused effort from the Government to protect existing jobs, to promote retraining and to attract new employment into those areas that have been hit by closures," he said.
The employers group IBEC are blaming escalating wages costs for the increase. Senior economist Aebhric Mc Gibney that in the first quarter of this year 11,500 jobs (5 per cent)were lost in manufacturing while weekly earnings in the sector grew 8.8 per cent.
He said: "As the economy regains some of the ground lost to our trading partners, activity should pick up and the number of employment opportunities will increase."
