ESRI: One in six will lose jobs in economic slump

THE Irish economy will experience the worst slump of any industrialised economy since the 1930s with one in six workers facing unemployment by the end of next year, according to the latest forecast from the Government’s economic think-tank.

The latest Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) forecast comes as figures show the wealth of every Irish household has plunged by more than €150,000 over the last two years.

The ESRI report predicted the economy will contract by a total of 11.6% over the three years from 2008 to 2010.