Covid Lockdown Forces Irish Economy Into Recession

GDP fell by a record 6 per cent in the second quarter of the year, according to the CSO.

The Covid 19 pandemic has decimated large parts of the economy - after the country went into lockdown.

These new CSO figures show the economy contracted by 6.1 per cent in the second quarter of the year.

When you take out the profits of multinationals, it's even higher - at 7.4 per cent.

It's also clear some sectors have been bearing the brunt of the restrictions.

The construction industry's taken a hit of 38 per cent - the transport, hotel and restaurant sector's contracted by 30 per cent.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says today's figures aren't unexpected - and the hit hasn't been as severe compared to other countries' economies.

The CSO has also provided an update on the impact of the pandemic's impact on the jobs market.

783 thousand people are now receiving either jobseekers' benefit or the pandemic unemployment payment - or benefitting from the temporary wage subsidy sceheme.

That's a drop of almost 150 thousand on July's figures.