Eamon Quinn: Far too early to call victory over Covid jobs crisis

Retail workers, in particular, faced long-term unemployment during the last crisis. The prospects for recovery look much better this time.

It seemed almost impossible a year ago that economies in Ireland and in other countries across Europe would be recovering so quickly. By the summer, the roll-out of vaccines had protected the aged and vulnerable and subsequently enabled the reopening of large parts of the shuttered economy. 

Ireland had undergone one of the lengthiest lockdowns and hospitality and tourism employing hundreds of thousands people were badly hit, while other parts of the private sector economy were unscathed  and public sector jobs expanded. The bitter experiences of the financial crash 10 years ago meant European governments had pledged this time to get things right.