Latest news and stories about productivity in finance in Portugal for expats and residents.
The Portuguese economy faced challenges at the end of 2025 as declining productivity and rising wages drove up unit labour costs, while increased housing investment led to a slight reduction in household savings.
The article discusses the disparity between salary increases and productivity growth in Portugal over the last decade. While average salaries have risen by 44%, this has not led to a real increase in purchasing power, as productivity has not kept pace. The Minister of Labour has raised concerns about the need for real productivity gains to sustain salary growth. Current government policies have pushed minimum wages to high levels without considering economic growth or productivity, threatening smaller businesses and leading to structural imbalances in the economy, such as inflation and reduced competitiveness. The article emphasizes the need for salary increases to be aligned with productivity and economic growth to ensure a sustainable future for the country's economy.
The key for the Portuguese economy to succeed and finally manage to catch up with its European peers? Continuing to invest in worker qualifications. This is according to Mário Centeno, former Governor of the Bank of Portugal and former Minister of Finance, who was responsible for closing the “Annual Labour Conference”. His speech can now be (re)heard...
The revision of labour legislation has become a tedious soap opera, despite recent episodes adding some drama: the suspense of the UGT vote or a party with less than 5.5% of the electorate accusing unions of representing only 7 to 15% of workers (and what about employer confederations, by the way?). Overall, the dramatisation surrounding the process is based on a misconception: that it is the 'silver bullet' that will solve economic growth problems. While some norms need updating, a conflict-driven approach fuels 'class struggle' rhetoric, which is the antithesis of social-democratic logic. Worse, it fosters illusions and loses sight of other, perhaps more priority, dimensions. Coincidentally, the OECD published the study 'Foundations for Growth and Competitiveness' this week. Portugal's gap compared to the OECD average in numeracy and problem-solving skills for people aged 16 to 65 is around 15% (25% for top-tier countries). If Portuguese workers had the skills of those in Finland, Japan, or Sweden, productivity could rise by 35%. Some OECD proposals involve labour law but outline concrete trade-offs (e.g., more permanent contracts to stimulate training investment, alongside simplified dismissal procedures). The difference between being involved and being committed is essential for credible negotiation. In reality, the conditions for such productivity gains are complex, involving everything from the productive structure to management process quality. Interestingly, a study from a few years ago suggested that if Portuguese companies adopted Swedish processes, the productivity gap would shrink by 25%. Revising labour law may make life easier for managers, but if they assume they are already doing everything right, it will achieve little and could even have perverse long-term effects. Crucially, we must not lose sight of the fact that the fundamental aspects of competitiveness policies remain unaddressed.
An analysis of how low productivity levels are acting as a bottleneck for economic growth in Portugal.
The recent statements by Álvaro Santos Pereira, current Governor of the Bank of Portugal, have finally touched a nerve regarding a structural problem that the country insists on ignoring: the profound inefficiency of our professional training. At a time when the Portuguese economy desperately needs to leverage its productivity, which...
Fewer working hours, higher productivity, employees as partners and an economy guided by imagination: the DST vision combines management, a critical reading of the current world, the best performance ever and 66 million in investments in industrial buildings in Portugal.
With digs at the CGTP, but praise for the UGT, the employers' representative admitted that there is willingness to increase remuneration for overtime hours.
The so-called 'K-adoption' of Artificial Intelligence describes an increasingly evident economic and social phenomenon: faced with the same technological disruption, different groups follow opposite trajectories. Some accelerate growth, productivity, and relevance, while others face stagnation or loss of value. Graphically, these trajectories draw the letter 'K': one ascending branch and one descending. In marketing, this...
In today's market, employee experience is performance, not just HR. Great Place To Work explains how trust and well-being are real levers for productivity and profitability. Many leaders still confuse organizational culture with abstract concepts like 'happiness'. What is the pragmatic distinction that should be made at the top management level? Let's set things...
Former Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas argued today that “the best thing Portugal can do is preserve its stability” in a “volatile and dangerous” world and warned that the only way to improve average wages is by increasing productivity.
Paulo Portas, ex-vice-primeiro-ministro de Portugal, destacou a importância de o país manter sua estabilidade em um cenário global volátil e perigoso. Ele afirmou que a única maneira de melhorar os salários médios é aumentando a produtividade, enfatizando a necessidade de compromisso político e constância de governos. Portas também alertou para os desafios demográficos, como o envelhecimento da população, e ressaltou que a Europa deve focar em questões internas como demografia, produtividade e inovação para evitar declínios geopolíticos e econômicos futuros.
Microsoft's CEO believes AI will shift the productivity curve and have a positive impact on global economic growth, provided it stops being a 'pastime' and becomes an economic foundation.
Home News Workers in foreign companies more productive and better paid Workers in foreign companies more productive and better paid The productivity and average salary of workers in subsidiaries of foreign companies in Portugal were 69. 6% and 44.
The productivity and average salary of workers at subsidiaries of foreign companies in Portugal were 69.6% and 44.2% higher, respectively, than those of workers at domestic companies in 2024, according to data released today by INE.
