Maryland’s job market may not recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of 2024 or even later, according to the latest analysis presented to the Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates on Thursday.

If Congress approves funding for state and local governments, Maryland revenues are expected to be down about $925 million in the next two months. Without that help, revenues drop by about $1.1 billion. In both scenarios, revenues continue to plummet over the next two years.

“What we're looking at is a snapshot of what can only be described as an economic nightmare,” said Comptroller Peter Franchot. “And these revenue figures, along with the number of unemployed Marylanders and businesses on the on the verge of closing their doors permanently are unprecedented in their scope and magnitude.”

Franchot warned that these scenarios also rely on health outcomes. If cases of the virus surge again in the fall and states have to resume lockdowns and stay-home orders, and if there’s no vaccine by the end of 2021, the economic outlook is even worse.

He also emphasized that all of these estimates are based on a rapidly changing reality.