Live register figures, published on Thursday, are expected to show a record 300,000 jump in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits as a result of the coronavirus-related shutdown. Including the new unemployment benefit recipients, Goodbody estimates that the Republic’s unemployment rate may have risen to 17 per cent in March, up from 4.8 per cent in February. Mr O’Leary said he expected a further increase in unemployment in April as a result of the new restrictions imposed on March 27th aimed at flattening the spike in new cases of the disease. Restrictions“At this point, we do not know when economic life will be allowed to restart and thus how long double-digit unemployment will persist,” Mr O’Leary said. This makes a V-shaped recovery unlikely in our view,” Mr O’Leary said.

Source: The Irish Times April 01, 2020 19:08 UTC