Latest news and stories about labour market in work in Portugal for expats and residents.
Portugal's year-on-year inflation reached 2.7% in March 2026, up from 2.1% in February, primarily driven by a 5.8% surge in energy prices. This spike, linked to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, accounts for over half of the total inflation increase. While the broader Eurozone labour market is expected to remain resilient, the rising cost of living remains a significant concern for the national economy.
A Diário de Notícias opinion piece argues that sustainability concerns now extend beyond environment and economy into work practices, urging organisations to balance resource use with staff welfare and avoid compromising the future. The commentary calls for assessing whether current workplace models use resources responsibly and for policies that treat people as a core resource. Employers and HR departments should consider whether current practices support longer-term staff wellbeing and resource efficiency.
Sustainability (sustentabilidade) means meeting present needs without reducing the ability of future generations to meet theirs, covering environmental, economic and social dimensions. For residents it affects local planning, jobs and services—look for municipal or company targets, timelines and measurable actions when assessing how sustainable a place or employer is.
A CGTP study reported that women now make up 53.5% of the total unemployed in 2025, up from 52.6% the previous year. The increase points to persistent gender differences in the labour market and may influence calls for targeted employment and training policies. Jobseekers and those using employment services should monitor local programmes aimed at reducing gender gaps.
The General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP – Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses) is Portugal’s largest trade-union confederation, grouping most unions in manufacturing, public services and many other sectors.
Founded clandestinely in 1970 as “Intersindical” under the dictatorship, it emerged publicly after the 1974 Carnation Revolution and was legalised in 1975. It has been central to virtually all major labour struggles since then, from defending collective bargaining and the 40‑hour week to leading general strikes against austerity and labour‑law rollbacks.
CGTP is historically close to the Portuguese Communist Party and has a class‑struggle, anti‑neoliberal profile, strongly critical of EU and government policies seen as undermining workers’ rights. It favours grassroots mobilisation and strikes over compromise, often refusing national social‑pact deals that the more centrist UGT is willing to sign.
In today’s Portugal, CGTP remains a key actor in wage bargaining, labour‑law debates and national protests; together with UGT it called the first joint general strike in years in December 2025, signalling its continuing capacity to organise mass action.
As Portugal marks Labour Day, the nation faces a paradox of high employment rates coupled with low wages, long working hours, and significant youth precarity, raising questions about how to better value careers and retain talent.
Foreign nationals now account for nearly a quarter of IEFP trainees, with many immigrants moving beyond language acquisition to pursue technical vocational training for better labour market integration.
The Bank of Portugal reports a gradual slowdown in employment growth for 2025, despite the labour market reaching historical highs, citing economic challenges and revised growth forecasts.
Between 2022 and 2025 the share of foreign nationals in placements made by employment centres more than doubled, reaching 31% of unemployed people placed. The data indicate greater willingness among immigrants to accept work, with implications for labour market dynamics, placement strategies and policies aimed at workforce integration.
Portugal’s unemployment rate has edged down only slowly since 2019, prompting debate over whether it is approaching a near‑floor. The rate’s stabilisation reflects a mix of cyclical recovery and structural constraints — tight labour markets in some sectors, demographic shifts, labour‑market mismatches and cost‑of‑living pressures that can limit further job creation. Further falls are possible but will likely depend on stronger demand, targeted upskilling and reforms that reduce structural unemployment rather than relying on cyclical factors alone.
Forecasts suggest 2026 is unlikely to see mass layoffs directly caused by artificial intelligence, but experts warn AI will reshape job roles and slow hiring as firms reassess workforce needs. Employers are expected to prioritise retooling existing staff and investing in training to capitalise on AI tools, creating a potential ‘rush’ for upskilling programmes across sectors. The shift could produce short-term hiring freezes or more cautious recruitment, while raising questions about skills mismatches, labour-market inequality and the speed of public and private training responses.
Four out of every 10 young Portuguese people under the age of thirty have temporary employment contracts. In a portrait of the labour market in Portugal and the European Union, Pordata also highlights that the country has salary levels below the European average.
With more than five million people employed, the Portuguese labour market currently has one of the highest weekly working hours in Europe, but salary levels below the EU average and one of the five highest rates of temporary contracts among the various countries of the Old Continent. The portrait is drawn by Pordata on the Day...
Portugal ranks among the European Union nations with the highest average weekly working hours.
An analysis of the current challenges facing the Portuguese job market, highlighting long hours, low pay, and job insecurity for the younger generation.
The rate of part-time underemployment in Portugal has risen to 2.2%, narrowing the gap with the European Union average.
An analysis of the Portuguese job market highlighting issues such as low salaries, long working hours, and job insecurity for young people.
As long as the numbers remain in the thousands when Portugal needs tens of thousands of workers, Via Verde will continue to be an experiment with good intentions and modest results. Opinion by Amanda Rattes
In an interview, CAP president Álvaro Mendonça e Moura says he is 'surprised' by the UGT's unanimous rejection of the labour package. He states he is open to new proposals but doubts that the UGT will present any.
Birth rate crisis worsens ageing in Portugal
The Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) will provide a new training voucher that will not be limited to the digital sector. The announcement was made this Tuesday by the institution's president, Domingos Lopes, during the Annual Labour Conference. “We are creating a public measure that remains in the digital sector and expands...”
The former governor of the Bank of Portugal says that youth unemployment is not a good statistic, as “these young people are unemployed because they rotate from job to job”
PRESS REVIEW | Projections point to significant drops in teaching staff by 2035
Opinion. Few want to anticipate scenarios for the impact of international conflicts, such as the one in Iran, on European economies. However, the effect of the geopolitical tensions we are witnessing, whether greater or lesser, is considered a certainty. What should we expect for Portugal and the labour market given the instability and uncertainty generated by international conflicts?
Portugal saw unemployment increase (slightly) between January and February, but the rate still remained below the European Union (EU) and Eurozone average, according to data released this Wednesday by Eurostat. Finland, Spain, and Greece recorded the highest unemployment rates among member states. In February 2026...
February saw a slight increase in unemployment compared to the first month of the year. According to data released this Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the rate stood at 5.8%, 0.2 percentage points higher than what was recorded in January. In year-on-year terms, however, there was a decline.
A “remarkable structural transformation” is taking place. More than just quantity of labour, agricultural holdings require “specialisation”, and immigrants are arriving “better prepared”.
Study assesses 30 years of the Portuguese agricultural sector.
Álvaro Santos Pereira, Governor of the Bank of Portugal, suggests that the country should actively attract highly qualified immigrants to address labour market needs. The report highlights that many immigrants, particularly Brazilians, struggle with the bureaucratic revalidation of their academic credentials, leading to a significant portion of highly educated professionals working outside their fields of expertise. The data shows that immigrants, with an average age of 33, are a vital part of the Portuguese workforce, contributing significantly to social security while relying less on social benefits than the native population.
The assessment of the protocol for granting work visas to immigrants in their countries of origin was considered “positive” by the executive. About 60% of the applications are for the agricultural sector.
Agricultural labour has decreased, but productivity has increased. “Dependence on foreign labour in intensive and seasonal crops is critical,” states the consultancy firm Consulai.
The Portuguese agricultural sector has seen its workforce drop from 430,000 to 220,000 over the last three decades, with four out of every 10 workers being foreign, yet productivity has more than doubled, according to a study revealed this Wednesday. Since 1995, the volume of agricultural labour has fallen from over 430,000 to approximately 220,000 units, while the value...
Looking at the Portuguese labour market through the lens of an organisation with an international presence profoundly changes the interpretation of local indicators. It is not about devaluing the national reality, but about framing it within a global dynamic. In an increasingly integrated market, this ability to contextualise is no longer just an extra...
The inability to secure a position at the desired healthcare unit is another factor that heavily influences the decision. Meanwhile, remuneration and travel-related costs are of relatively minor concern.
