The Ministry of Labour Solidarity and Social Security have announced that the number of unemployed people registered at job centers dropped by 11.8% in December year-on-year, to 307,005, the lowest figure in this month in the last 30 years.
When compared to December 2019, the pre-pandemic period, the reduction was 1.1% (-3,477 people), and between November and December 2022, there were 10,282 (+3.5%) more people unemployed.
“The year 2022 was, in general, the best year in terms of registered unemployment, having marked, since March 2022, systematically lower values than the same values of 2019”, points out the ministry.
“In terms of registered youth unemployment, 2022 was also, in general, the best year, with values systematically lower than the same figures for 2019, except in the months of January and June”.
According to the IEFP, the 307,005 unemployed registered with the Employment Services of the Mainland and Autonomous Regions in December 2022 represented 65.6% of a total of 468,064 job applications.
Over the last month of 2022, 44,019 unemployed people registered with employment services across the country, a number higher than that observed in the same month of 2021 (+4,545; +11.5%) and lower compared to November (- 10,329; -19.0%).
According to the institute, “for the decrease in registered unemployment, compared to the same month of 2021, in the absolute variation, the groups of individuals who are aged 25 years or over (-37,223), those who looking for a new job (-37,976) and those applying for 12 months or more (-49,351)”.
As for youth unemployment (people under 25 years old) “in December 2022 it was the lowest, in that month, since there is a record, a chain decrease of -1.6% (-540 young people) and a decrease of -10.3% compared to December 2021 (-3,731 young people)”.
Thus, in December there were 32,426 young people unemployed, 0.5% below the figure for December 2019 (-154 young people), youth unemployment representing 10.6% of registered unemployment, which compares with 11.0% registered in the same month of 2021.
At regional level, in December, unemployment registered in the country, in year-on-year terms, decreased in all regions, with emphasis on the autonomous region of Madeira (-31.0%) and for the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (-14.8%).
In relation to the previous month, almost all regions (except Madeira, -0.3%) showed increases in unemployment, with the biggest variation in the Algarve (+22.0%).
Source Lusa
