Unemployment rate down to 6.3% in February, driven by a drop in the working population
The unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in February, the lowest rate since August 2002. The decrease, however, was motivated by a drop in the working population. The number of employed people went down.
The unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in February this year, the lowest rate recorded since August 2002, according to the figures published by the National Statistics Institute this Friday. The rate decrease was entirely driven by a reduction of the working population, with the economic climate in February not contributing greatly to employment.
INE revealed this Friday that the unemployment rate fell from 6.6% in January to 6.3% in February. The rate that had been published in January was revised downwards, from 6.7% to 6.6%. The rate of 6.3% registered in February is still provisional and is still going to be subject to a revision next month.
If we observe merely the rate, we see that it is the lowest registered since August 2002.
However, this decline does not mean more jobs were created in Portugal, it rather means the contrary. According to INE, the number of people employed fell by 3.4 thousand people in February.
