The Central Bank and the Economic and Social Research Institute have predicted a sharp slowdown in economic growth next year. The predictions come in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the United States.
The ESRI said that unemployment could double to 7.5% and house prices could fall by 15% over the next year. The ESRI said that growth in the economy could now slow dramatically to under 2% next year, having expanded by about 6% this year.
In its quarterly report published this afternoon, the Central Bank said that growth for next year could be less than 3.5%. This compares with almost 10.5% for last year.
The bank says that it is too early to say how precisely US consumption would be affected by the atrocities, but adds that recent confidence indicators suggest a weak picture.
It warned that unemployment is set to rise next year by around 14,000. It says that the level of job losses will soon outstrip the number of new jobs created. It is also warned that hotels and other businesses in the tourism area are also vulnerable as a result of the atrocities in the states.
