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The OECD warned on Wednesday that the shock to the economy and living standards caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is "unprecedented and will have long-lasting effects" as it forecasts a global recession of at least 6 per cent, Euronews reported.

Laurence Boone, chief economist for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), said that the body's latest economic outlook is "very sobering".

She described it as "the most uncertain and dramatic outlook since the creation of the OECD".

The organisation, which counts 37 mostly-rich countries among its members, expects the global economic output to drop by 6 per cent this year if the pandemic remains "under control" and to shrink by 7.6 per cent if a second wave washes over the world in the coming months.

"In both scenarios, the shock to the world economy and living standard is absolutely unprecedented and it will have long-lasting effects," Boone said, stressing that "all OECD countries are in recession and a large number of them are in a double-digit recession".