The unemployment level rose by 0.5 points in the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2017.
Unemployment among men stood at 8.6%, and unemployment among women at 5.7%.
There were 103,900 unemployed people in the country in the first quarter, up by 6,800, or 7%, quarter-on-quarter, but down by 13,700, or 11.7%, year-on-year.