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Breaking news and developing stories from across Portugal.

Aerial view of Lisbon rooftops with the Tagus River and a cargo ship behind

Portuguese Employers Pare Back Summer Hiring Plans as the Net Outlook Slides to 18%

ManpowerGroup's latest survey puts Portugal's net hiring intention at 18% for the third quarter of 2026, down from near 30% and below the global average of 26%. The share of firms planning cuts almost doubled to 17% amid Middle East conflict, energy costs and a slowing Europe.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jun 2026

A modern pale-stone building in Lisbon with the 25 de Abril bridge in the distance

BNP Paribas Gathers 9,700 Staff Into a New Parque das Nações Hub as Its Portuguese Workforce Nears 10,000

BNP Paribas has opened the EXEO Office Hub in Lisbon's Parque das Nações, a 38,000-square-metre campus for 5,300 people across three buildings. With about 9,700 staff and 500 open roles in Portugal, the euro zone's biggest bank is nearing a 10,000-strong Portuguese workforce.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jun 2026

Two construction workers in orange high-visibility vests on a building site with steel reinforcement bars, illustrating immigrant labour in Portugal

Foreign Workers Now Make Up Nearly One in Five Segurança Social Contributors as Portuguese Firms Lean Harder on Immigrant Labour

Foreign nationals crossed the one-million mark among Segurança Social contributors in 2025 and now account for almost 20% of the total — up from barely 5% a decade ago. Whole sectors, from agriculture to hospitality, increasingly depend on immigrant workers.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jun 2026

A modern riverside building on the Tagus in Lisbon with the 25 de Abril bridge in the distance, illustrating the city's river-transport plans

Lisbon Targets a 2027 River-Ferry Return to Parque das Nações, While Transtejo Pegs the Restart No Earlier Than 2028

Lisbon's city hall says river ferries will once again call at Parque das Nações from 2027, reviving a stop that last operated during Expo'98. The operator, Transtejo Soflusa, is more cautious — its president has put the restart no earlier than 2028, pending dredging and demand studies.

The Portugal Brief 29 Jun 2026

Rooftops of residential buildings in Lisbon above the Tagus, illustrating Portugal's rental market

Portugal's New-Lease Rents Jump 9.1% in Early 2026, With Lisbon at €17.42 a Square Metre

The median rent on new contracts signed in the first quarter of 2026 reached €9.46 a square metre nationally, up 9.1% on a year earlier and accelerating from the previous quarter, INE figures show. Lisbon stayed the most expensive market at €17.42 a square metre.

The Portugal Brief 28 Jun 2026

Euro banknotes spilling from an envelope, illustrating new consumer-credit fee rules in Portugal

Portugal Scraps Loan-Processing Fees on Pre-2021 Mortgages and Makes Tied Products Optional From 28 June

A long-phased Portuguese banking law reaches its final stage on 28 June 2026, ending the monthly processing fee on credit contracts signed up to the end of 2020 and barring banks from tying insurance or other products to a loan renegotiation.

The Portugal Brief 28 Jun 2026

Green volcanic cliffs and farmland headlands meeting the deep blue Atlantic on the coast of the Azores.

Azores Government Opens a Santa Maria Bypass and Hospital Scanner as the Island Council Presses Seven Demands

As the Azores government inaugurates a new Vila do Porto bypass and a hospital CT scanner on Santa Maria, the island's council hands over a seven-point memorandum of unmet needs, ranking health, transport and education at the top.

The Portugal Brief 28 Jun 2026

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