ESRI: Unemployment may peak at 18% by summer as economy to shrink by over 7%

Irish unemployment is likely to surge and peak at 18% by early summer and could take more than a year before falling back to its pre-crisis level -- depending on the success of measures to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic here and across the world.

• --Unemployment may fall back to 10.7% by end of year
• --Economic output may fall sharply with GDP contracting 7%
• --2020 budget may slump into red with deficit of €12.7bn
• --2020 annual budget may post deficit of 4.3% of GDP
• --Outlook based on assumptions of lockdown of 12 weeks