In December 2012, the jobless rate was 6.7%.
An estimated 719,000 people were unemployed and looking for work in December, down from 740,000 a month earlier. Male jobless rate was 7.7%, while female unemployment reached 6.4%.
The figures refer to people aged between 15 and 74 and are based on the definition recommended by the International Labor Organization.
The unemployment rate for people aged 25-74 was 5.7% in December, the data showed. The latter category made up for 73.2% of the total jobless people in the last month of 2013.