OECD: Unemployment to peak this year

UNEMPLOYMENT here should peak this year, with inflation returning in 2011 when the economy will grow by 3%, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has predicted.

The OECD said that after a severe recession in 2009, the economy appears close to a turning point and believes Irish growth next year will outpace average growth of 2.7% in the 30 countries in the Paris-based body.

“The recovery will nevertheless be externally driven, as unwinding the imbalances created during the economic boom will continue to restrain consumption and investment for some time. This suggests that a broadly based revival will take some time to emerge. By contrast, the contribution of exports to growth will be increased by the improvement of external competitiveness,” the organisation said yesterday.