LISBON, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- Portugal's unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent in the second quarter of 2026, the lowest level since the national statistical series began in 2011, the national statistics institute INE reported Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Portual's employed population reached its highest level in 15 years.
The unemployment rate declined by 0.8 percentage points from the first quarter and 0.6 points from the same period a year earlier, with 300,800 people unemployed between April and June, down 45,500 from the start of the year and 28,700 fewer than that of the second quarter of 2025.
The employed population reached approximately 5.4 million people, an increase of 99,000, or 1.9 percent, from the previous quarter and 151,500, or 2.9 percent, from the same period in 2025, the highest figure since the first quarter of 2011.
Remote working continued to expand, with 21.3 percent of the employed population, nearly 1.2 million people, in the second quarter, the highest share since the third quarter of 2023. ■
