Unemployment has fallen to its lowest rate in eight years, according to new CSO figures.

The country's unemployment rate now stands at 7.5% - having been estimated at 7.7% by the CSO just three weeks ago.

The rate has halved in just over four-and-a-half years, after reaching a peak of 15.1% in the spring of 2012.

The Quarterly National Household Survey also shows an increasing number of people at work - including those without third-level qualifications.

It's also shown that the number of people at work now is 2,040,500 - the highest it has been since the tail end of 2008.

But there is some concern that the effects of Brexit are already beginning to show, with a geographical breakdown suggesting that the border region may have in fact lost jobs in the third quarter of 2016.

However these figures are based on smaller regional samples of the survey, and are not seasonally adjusted, so it is difficult to tell whether this is a direct result of the Brexit referendum held in June.

Our political correspondent Gavan Reilly filed this report for Today FM's National Lunchtime News: