ESRI: Irish unemployment could surge to 18% by early summer

he jobs shakeout over a ‘very short period’ hits hard sectors like the wholesale and retail trades, and accommodation and food services, says the ESRI report.

Irish unemployment is likely to surge to over 18% by early summer and could take more than a year before it falls back to its pre-crisis level of under 5% — depending on the success of measures to rein in the Covid-19 pandemic here and across the world.

The stark economic outlook by Ireland’s leading think tank, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), is the first authoritative look at the huge economic damage brought by the pandemic in terms of the sudden surge in joblessness.