Portugal labor market shows stable unemployment and rising wages

Data from August indicates a complex landscape for the Portuguese labor market. According to IEFP records, registered unemployment saw a monthly increase of 1.7% (+4,623 people), reaching a total of 273,723. However, this represents the smallest August increase in five years, and unemployment is down 9.3% compared to the previous year. Significant year-on-year decreases were noted in agriculture (-16.4%) and the industry, energy, and construction sectors (-10.8%), while the services sector saw a monthly increase of 1.9%.

In contrast, INE employment survey estimates showed a monthly decline of 21,600 employed persons (-0.4%), bringing the total employed population to 5,324,000. The active population also decreased by 17,700 people, resulting in a stable unemployment rate of 5.7%.

Regarding wages, Social Security data from July shows that the average declared remuneration for dependent work rose to 1,803.24 euros, an increase of nearly 5% compared to last year.