New CSO figures show people in the Mid-West continue tbe some of the most likely in Ireland to be out of work.
The CSO's Quarterly National Household survey has found there are 152,300 people currently employed in Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary.
This figure is up by 4,300 on the same time last year, while the number of people unemployed has dropped by 900 in the same time.
However, 19,100 are still out of work leading to an unemployment rate here of 11.2%.
In regional terms, this figure is lower than in only the Midlands and South-East, and the unemployment rate here is over 3% higher than in Dublin.
Nationally, the total number of people at work is now at its highest level in six years.