‘Real concern’ the economy will suffer beyond pandemic

Cornerstone Group Senior Director James Cullen says there is a “real concern” for the economy beyond “getting through COVID-19 over the next six months”. The jobs figures report due to be released on Thursday is expected to show a rise in the unemployment rate from 5.1 per cent in February to 5.5 per cent during March, with the possibility of a greater increase. Mr Cullen told Sky News “we saw Treasury figures out yesterday which suggest that with the JobKeeper package in place we could see unemployment rising to 10 per cent" "And of course the IMF is suggesting that unemployment could continue to rise in Australia over the next few years," he said. Mr Cullen said one of the most concerning areas was the group of casual workers who were not included in the government's JobKeeper package. “I suppose the real challenge now will be how we manage that transition and ease those restrictions back and hopefully in time get back to some normalcy and the see the economy hopefully come roaring back," he said. Image: Getty

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