Portugal Employment Hits 5.37 Million in May as Jobless Rate Falls to 5.5%
Updated
Updated · CaixaBank Research · Jul 10
Portugal Employment Hits 5.37 Million in May as Jobless Rate Falls to 5.5%
1 articles · Updated · CaixaBank Research · Jul 10
Summary
5,366,600 people were employed in Portugal in May, up 2.8% from a year earlier and above the 2.4% average growth of the previous four months.
The unemployment rate fell to 5.5%, down 0.2 percentage points from April and 0.7 points from a year earlier, pointing to a stronger-than-expected labor market in Q2.
That strength was backed by domestic demand: retail sales rose 4.2% in the first two months of the quarter, car registrations climbed 11.8% in Q2, and nominal wages increased 5% in Q1.
Inflation data were mixed in June, with headline inflation easing to 3.2% as energy-price growth slowed to 9.1%, while core inflation accelerated to 2.5%.
Broader sentiment has improved since May as Iran-war uncertainty faded, leading analysts to see downside risk to their 2026 unemployment forecast of 5.9%.