OECD Report December 2020: Economic Forecast Summary The economy is recovering following the sharp fall in GDP and dramatic rise in the unemployment rate in the first half of 2020. Real GDP is anticipated to contract by 3.7% in 2020, before rising by 3.2% in 2021 and 3.5% in 2022. The unemployment rate will gradually fall, but will remain elevated compared with the pre-pandemic period. This reflects activity in some sectors, such as hospitality and transportation, continuing to be impacted by the pandemic and impediments to cross-sectoral labour reallocation. A general rollout of an effective vaccine in the latter half of 2021 will allow an easing of containment measures and strengthen confidence.