Number of unemployed in March rises 3% Y.o.Y, 8.9% Q.o.Q

The number of unemployed registered in the employment services in Portugal rose 3% in March, in year-on-year terms, and 8.9% compared to February, to 343,761, according to data from the Employment and Professional Training Institute (IEFP).

The total number of unemployed registered in Portugal in March, the month in which Portugal entered a state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was higher than in the same month of 2019 (up 9,985) and also compared to the previous month (up 28,199), said the IEFP, in information made available on its website.

“All the groups in the unemployment register contributed to the increase in registered unemployment compared with the same month of 2019, particularly men, adults aged 25 or over, those registered for less than a year, those seeking a new job and those with a secondary school qualification,” the institute said.

At the end of March, 343,761 unemployed individuals were registered with the employment services of the continent and autonomous regions, a number that represents 70.9% of a total of 485 job applications, the IEFP added.

In February, the number of registered unemployed rose to 315,562, a drop of 1.6% compared to January (320,558) and a decrease of 7.9% in homologous terms.

In regional terms, registered unemployment rose in four regions, except for the northern region and autonomous regions.

“The year-on-year increase in the Algarve (+41.4%) and Alentejo (+9.8%) is noteworthy”, with “the Azores (-8.8%) as a counterpoint,” the IEFP said.

According to the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training, the number of unfulfilled job vacancies reached 12,305 at the end of last month, throughout the country, which corresponds to an annual (-4,399; -26.1%) and monthly (-1,514; -11.0%) reduction.