The eurozone has managed to ascend out of deflation in September while the jobless rate dipped to a three-year low.
Unemployment fell to 10.8% for the region compared to 11.5% in September last year.
In Portugal the official rate went down to 12.2% from 13.4% in September 2014. This still meant that more than half a million people were without paid work.
Portugal’s young people are still not faring very well, with 31% of them out of work in September. Although the official rate has come down from nearly 33% last year, there are 114,000 unemployed youth.
This is against a backdrop of 22% youth unemployment across the 19-nation euro region.
The worst problems persist in Greece and Spain. Cyprus’ joblessness has crept up, pushing Portugal out of having the third highest rate in the region to now having the fourth highest. It is followed by Italy.
These five countries have rates higher than the eurozone average of 10.8%.
Throughout the eurozone, by the end of September there were nearly 18 million people without jobs. That figures rises to 22.6 million throughout the EU nations.
Despite falling unemployment, the gulf in jobless figures across the eurozone's strongest and weakest economies is pronounced. Germany, the region’s powerhouse, has an unemployment rate of just 4.5%, compared to the highest in Greece, which is 25%.
And although rising out of deflation is deemed a positive move, there was little consolation for consumers in finding increasing food (both processed and unprocessed), alcohol and tobacco costs.
Household expenses were assisted by collapsing energy prices.
Analysts believe that rising prices coupled with an increase in jobs means that economic recovery in the euro area is gaining traction.
It has certainly been a long haul.
