Portugal’s unemployment rate fell to 9.8 percent in March, from 9.9 percent in February, data from the European Union’s Eurostat agency shows.
Data from Eurostat show the unemployment rate in Portugal fell by 2.2 percentage points compared to the same time last year. The fall was the second greatest year-on-year decline in the European Union in March, behind Croatia.
Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said the decrease in unemployment across the past 12 months meant “economic growth and, therefore, job creation seem to be confirmed,” according to the Portuguese press.
The rate of unemployment for those under the age of 25 also fell in March, to 23.3 percent from 24.4 percent in February. The March result was much improved from the 31.1-percent unemployment rate recorded 12 months earlier.
