The recovery is described as "encouraging".
Unemployment levels dropped by three per cent in May as the country fully reopened the construction and retail sectors.
New CSO figures show the unemployment rate, including those on the PUP, fell to 22 per cent last month.
Absences from work, which includes those who were laid off, on leave or holiday, rose to 48-point-5 per cent in the first quarter of 2021.
CSO Statistician Jim Dalton says this was particularly prevalent in the hospitality sector:
CSO Senior statistician Edel Flannery says it's hard to say when employment will return to pre-pandemic levels - but the current recovery is encouraging:
The video presentation of today's Labour Force Survey Q1 2021 Results, presented by Jim Dalton, Statistician in the Labour Market Analysis area of the CSO.#CSOIreland #Ireland #LabourForceSurvey #LabourForce #Households #Families #IrishFamilieshttps://t.co/NvJAC269Aw
— Central Statistics Office Ireland (@CSOIreland) June 23, 2021