Portugal's Job Centres Count 30,616 Fewer Unemployed Than a Year Ago, but the Algarve and Alentejo Edge Up After the Summer

Portugal's public job centres had 271,984 people registered as unemployed at the end of September 2026, 30,616 fewer than a year earlier, a fall of 10.1 percent. The count also slipped by 1,739 (0.6 percent) on August, according to the monthly report of the Instituto do Emprego e Formação Profissional (Institute for Employment and Vocational Training, IEFP).

The fall reached every region, but not evenly. The Norte (North) accounted for most of it, while the Algarve and the Alentejo registered more unemployed people than in August, as the summer ended.

The September figures

• Registered unemployed: 271,984, down 10.1 percent on September 2025 and 0.6 percent on August.
• All job applications: 401,092, down 8.2 percent on the year. Unemployed people make up 67.8 percent of them. The rest are people who already have a job, are on a training or employment programme, or are temporarily unavailable.
• New registrations during the month: 51,728 people signed on as unemployed, 6.7 percent fewer than in September 2025 but 43.2 percent more than in August.
• Vacancies: employers lodged 13,579 job offers during September, 3.5 percent more than a year earlier. At the end of the month 17,681 offers were still unfilled, 5.9 percent fewer than a year before.
• Placements: job centres placed 9,995 people in work, up 3.0 percent on the year.

The North leads, the South turns

The Norte had 103,557 registered unemployed, 20,763 fewer than a year earlier (down 16.7 percent). By our calculation that is about two thirds of the national fall. Madeira (down 8.4 percent, to 5,006) and the Algarve (down 6.9 percent, to 9,516) followed.

Lisboa e Vale do Tejo (Lisbon and the Tagus Valley) fell least, by 4.7 percent to 94,193. The region now holds 34.6 percent of the country's registered unemployed, up from 32.7 percent a year ago, while the Norte's share has dropped from 41.1 to 38.1 percent. The Centro had 41,529 (down 6.8 percent) and the Alentejo 14,401 (down 5.1 percent).

Month on month the picture was different. Unemployment rose in the Algarve by 5.3 percent (479 people) and in the Alentejo by 3.1 percent (429). It also edged up in Madeira (2.8 percent) and the Azores (2.5 percent, to 3,782).

Who is on the register

• Women were 155,422 of the registered unemployed, 57.1 percent of the total.
• Under-25s numbered 28,569. That is 15.7 percent fewer than a year ago, but 7.8 percent more than in August. First-time jobseekers rose by 6.2 percent on the month, to 27,423.
• Graduates barely fell over the year. People with a higher education degree numbered 42,666, only 1.2 percent fewer than a year earlier and 5.8 percent more than in August.
• The long-term unemployed, registered for a year or more, were 105,918, down 11.6 percent. They are 38.9 percent of the total.
• By occupation (mainland only), unskilled workers were the largest group, at 28.1 percent. Personal services, security and sales staff followed at 19.1 percent, then professionals in intellectual and scientific work at 13.5 percent.

Of the 236,613 people on the mainland register who had worked before, 69.5 percent came from services. Real estate, administrative and support services accounted for 27.1 percent and was flat on the year. Unemployment from accommodation and restaurants fell 9.9 percent, to 21,902, and from the clothing industry by 27.1 percent, to 5,199. Former construction workers numbered 13,783, down 12.9 percent.

What the figure measures

The IEFP count covers people who have registered at a job centre as unemployed. It is not the unemployment rate, which the Instituto Nacional de Estatística (National Statistics Institute, INE) measures with a household survey (see our report on the rate at its lowest since 2011). The two series can move differently. The IEFP report does not break the register down by nationality.

In July we reported that the register had shed almost 29,000 jobseekers in a year. Separate Social Security figures published this week showed lay-off falling below 4,000 workers in September.

Readers who have lost a job can find how the benefit works in our guide to unemployment benefit in Portugal. IEFP also publishes figures for each municipality and job centre on its statistics page.