Economy will rebound in 2021 after severe retraction and record job losses - report

The Irish economy will suffer a huge contraction in output and endure record job losses this year, before employment levels recover gradually as output rebounds in 2021, according to the first Government forecasts on the fallout from the Covid-19 crisis.

The Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has warned 220,000 jobs will be lost before a recovery in 2021 when there will be a 5.5% increase in employment, but the economy will not return to where it was at the start of this year until 2022.