Lisbon, Jan. 20, 2026 (Lusa) - The number of unemployed people registered at job centres in Portugal fell by 10.8% in December, year-on-year, remaining virtually unchanged compared to November, according to data released today by the Institute for Employment and Professional Training (IEFP).

According to the IEFP, at the end of December, 299,423 unemployed individuals were registered with employment services on the mainland and in the autonomous regions, representing 68.4% of a total of 437,863 job applications.

The figure is lower than that recorded in the same month of 2024, a variation that is explained by those registered for less than 12 months (-28,830), those looking for a new job (-28,691) and those over 25 years of age (-26,326), according to the IEFP.

Compared to November, 29 fewer people were registered at employment centres in December.

Looking at the professional groups of the unemployed registered on the mainland, the most representative were ‘unskilled workers’ (30.2%), ‘personal services, security and sales workers’ (19.8%), ‘intellectual and scientific specialists’ (10.5%) and ‘administrative staff’ (10.1%).

In December, unemployment fell year-on-year across all regions, with Madeira recording the largest decrease – 16%.

The IEFP also reports that job offers received throughout this month totalled 5,745 across the country, 7.4% fewer than in December 2024 and 34.3% fewer than the previous month.

At the end of the month, there were 11,472 unfilled job offers, up 18.8% year-on-year.

Placements made during the last month of the year reached 4,630 nationwide, 3.3% more than in the same period last year and 32.2% more than in November.

JO/ADB // ADB.

Lusa