It's thought up to half a million people could now be seeking unemployment benefits because of the Covid 19 pandemic.
The latest Live Register figures - which include part time, seasonal and casual workers - are due out in the next hour.
182 thousand people were claiming unemployment benefits in February this year.
But a report from Goodbody estimates that could have jumped by around 300 thousand in March - setting a new record.
That would mean around a fifth of the working population are claiming some form of unemployment benefit.
