Workforce shrinks for first time in two decades

IRELAND’S workforce has shrunk for the first time in nearly two decades as FÁS last night warned of a jobless crisis gripping the country next year.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted people should stay “positive” despite a CSO survey showing an alarming combination of a sharp fall in employment coupled with a severe lengthening of the dole queues — a double economic blow unseen for a quarter century.

FÁS warned next year would be much worse with the number of people employed in Ireland plunging by 100,000 — four times more than this year’s drop.