Unemployment falls 3.3% between January, February

  • Lusa
  • 21 March 2022

According to data released by the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), the number of unemployed registered at job centres in Portugal dropped 3.3% in February compared to January.

The number of unemployed registered at job centres in Portugal dropped 3.3% in February compared to January and decreased 20.3% compared to the same month last year, to 344,264, the IEFP reported on Monday.

According to data released by the Institute of Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), in February, there were 11,604 fewer unemployed people registered than in the previous month and 87,579 fewer unemployed people registered than in February 2021, when the country was facing the second general lockdown due to Covid-19.

According to the ministry of labour, solidarity, and social security, the 344,264 registered unemployed corresponds to the lowest number since the beginning of the pandemic.

The ministry led by Ana Mendes Godinho also pointed out that the drop in 11,605 unemployed people observed last month (compared to the preceding month) corresponds to the largest drop ever seen in February since this series of data began in 2003.

The data released on Monday interrupts the upward trend registered for two consecutive months in the number of unemployed registered at job centres. The reduction in the number of unemployed was common to practically all regions in the country, except in the Azores, where there was an increase of 0.3%.

Also on a regional level, but in year-on-year terms, there was a decline in unemployment in all the regions of the country, with the Algarve and Madeira recording the largest reductions in the country with falls of 30.8% (10,311 fewer registered persons) and 29.0% (5,888 fewer registered persons), respectively.

On the other hand, youth unemployment (a category that considers those under 25) registered a fall of 3.4% in February compared to January (-1,304 youths) and a decrease of 27.7% (-14,003 youths) compared to the same period in the previous year.

The number of long-term unemployed (a category that includes people registered at the job centre for over a year) totalled 169,023 in February, which translates as a decrease of 3.1% compared to January (-5,318 people) and a worsening of 1.9% (+3,123 people) compared to February 2021.

Among those registered less than a year ago, and who total 175,241, there was a fall in month-on-month and year-on-year terms of 3.5% and 34.1%, respectively.

In terms of occupational groups, and taking into account the year-on-year change, the most representative percentage of unemployed were ‘unskilled workers’ (25.5%), ‘workers in personal services, security protection and sales workers’ (21.6%), and ‘specialists in intellectual and scientific activities’ (10.5%).

In the year-on-year comparison, the IEFP reported that, excluding groups with little representation in registered unemployment, “all groups represented decreases”, with emphasis on ‘workers in personal services, security protection and salesmen’ (-25.8%), ‘plant and machine operators and assembly workers’ (-23.5%) and ‘skilled workers in industry, construction and craftsmen’ (-22.6%).

At the sectoral level, year-on-year declines were recorded in most sectors of activity, agriculture and industry, and services. The trend was also downward in services and industry, but upward (0.8%) in agriculture.

The number of job offers received throughout the month and February totalled 11,242 in the whole country, which is 1,191 less than the number received in January (-9.6%), but 3,565 (+ 46.4%) more than in February 2021.

The economic activities with greater expression in the job offers (IEFP considering, in this case, only the data concerning the mainland) were the ‘real estate activities and support services’ (20.4%), ‘accommodation, restaurants and similar’ (17.4%) and ‘wholesale and retail trade’ (10.7%).

Placements (data for the mainland) reveal that there was a higher concentration in ‘unskilled workers (32.1%), ‘workers in personal services, protection and security services and sales workers’ (16.6%) and ‘skilled workers in industry, construction and crafts’ (11.7%).