Ireland's unemployment rate fell sharply in November and mortgage arrears hit a two-year low, but stalling consumer sentiment suggested the country's firm economic recovery was still being unevenly distributed.

The jobless rate, which has been falling steadily from an early 2012 high of 15.1pc and at a faster pace in recent months, dropped to 10.7pc last month, as the number of people claiming unemployment benefit fell for a 29th successive month.

While that leaves Prime Minister Enda Kenny well on target to get the jobless rate below 10pc by elections in early 2016, his government has been rattled by mass protests against new water charges, which have exposed frustration over the uneven economic recovery.

Emphasising this, the unemployment data showed that new jobs were mainly being taken up by those out of work for less than a year with 47.2pc of people claiming jobless benefit doing so for more than 12 months compared to 45.9pc a year ago.

"These data have a familiar feel to them. While the headline figures continue to illustrate the benefits of the economic upturn in Ireland, the recovery has not yet spread to all parts of the labour force," said Philip O'Sullivan, chief economist at Investec Ireland.

The drop in the headline unemployment rate, from 10.9pc in October, chimed with a survey for the services sector, also released on Wednesday. It showed that firms hired staff at the fastest rate in over eight years last month, with higher salaries putting pressure on costs.

The government forecasts economic growth of almost 5pc this year, a rate that would likely make Ireland the best-performing economy in Europe.

Employment growth has also eased the pressure on home owners who fell into mortgage arrears after a spectacular property crash brought the banking sector to the brink of collapse and pushed the government into a bailout it completed last year.

Central bank data showed that the proportion of home loans in arrears for more than 90 days fell to 11.2pc at the end of September, versus a high of 12.9pc a year ago.

However the stalling in consumer sentiment further suggested that the economic recovery people are hearing about is far removed from their own circumstances, the report's authors said.

"Many people are not yet feeling the effects, and with unemployment still close to 11pc we have a long way to go," jobs minister Richard Bruton said in a statement.

Online Editors