Unemployment grows in Portugal, but remains below EU figures

Portugal’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate increased in March to 5.7%, from 5.6% in February 2022, but remained below both the average of the Euro Area (6.8%) and the European Union (6.2%). In year-on-year terms, this indicator fell from the 6.6% recorded in March 2021, Eurostat advanced this Tuesday.

Regarding youth unemployment in Portugal, it remains above the European (13.9%) and the Euro Area (13.9%) average by increasing to 21.6% in March, which represents a rise compared to the 20.2% registered in February 2022, but a decrease compared to the 22.7% registered in March 2021.

When broken down by gender, the Portuguese unemployment rate stood at 5% for men and 6.4% for women, a decrease in both cases when compared to February figures, 5.1% and 6.2%, respectively. This decrease is more pronounced in annual terms, with male unemployment standing at 6.4%, and female unemployment at 6.9% in March 2021.

Compared to the EU and Euro Area average, Portugal’s gender distribution shows a more positive value. In March, the EU unemployment rate for women was 6.6%, stable compared to the previous month, and 5.9% for men, below the 6% registered in February. In turn, in the Euro Area, the unemployment rate for women decreased 0.1 percentage points, from 7.3% in February 2022, to 7.2% in March. As for male unemployment, the indicator remained stable at 6.5%.