New York: The number of employed Americans won't return to its pre-pandemic level until 2024, but the broad economy is expected to fully recover by the middle of this year, according to a Congressional Budget Office report (CBO) issued Monday. 

In its new economic forecast, the CBO projected that the economic expansion that began in mid-2020 will continue, and real gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to return to its pre-pandemic level in mid-2021.

The Covid-19 pandemic caused "severe economic disruptions" last year to sectors such as travel and hospitality, and  losses in employment were concentrated among lower-wage workers, the CBO said in a report titled 'An Overview of the Economic Outlook: 2021 to 2031' issued on Monday.

Over the course of the coming year, vaccination is expected to greatly slash the number of new Covid-19 cases, the CBO said, adding that as a result, the extent of social distancing is expected to decline, reports Xinhua news agency.

According to the CBO, the country's real GDP is on track to grow by 4.6 per cent in 2021, following a 3.5 per cent contraction in 2020. Noting that the labour market conditions continue to improve, the CBO said in the report that as the economy expands, the unemployment rate will gradually decline, and the number of people employed will return to its pre-pandemic level in 2024.

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