Lisbon, Feb. 23, 2026 (Lusa) - The number of unemployed people in Portugal registered at job centres fell by 11.1% in January, year-on-year, having risen by 3.8% compared to December, according to data published on Monday by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP).
According to the IEFP, at the end of January, 310,708 unemployed people were registered with employment services on the mainland and in the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, representing 69.1% of a total of 449,423 job applicants.
The number is 38,360 lower than in the same month of 2025, and the variation is explained by changes in those registered for less than 12 months (-29,381), those seeking new employment (-31,449) and those over 25 years of age (-28,922).
In a month-on-month comparison, i.e. in relation to December, there were 11,285 more people registered at job centres in January.
Looking at the professional groups of the unemployed registered on the mainland, the most representative were "unskilled workers" (30.1%), "personal service, security and sales workers" (20.2%), "intellectual and scientific specialists" (10.5%) and "administrative staff" (10.2%).
In December, unemployment fell in all regions year-on-year, with Madeira recording the largest decline - 13.9%.
The IEFP also reports that job offers received throughout the month of January totalled 11,753 nationwide, down 0.9% year-on-year, but more than double (104.6%) compared to December.
At the end of the month, there were 11,451 unfilled job offers, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year.
Placements made during the first month of the year reached 6,883 nationwide, 11.4% less than in the same period last year, but 48.7% more than in December.
The IEFP also records that the number of couples with both partners unemployed fell by 12.5% in January, year-on-year, despite increasing by 1.9% compared to December.
Of the total number of unemployed people who are married or in a civil partnership, "9,394 (7.9%) also have a record that their spouse is also registered as unemployed with the employment service, totalling 4,697 unemployed couples in January 2026," according to the IEFP report released today.
The IEFP also reported that the number of unemployed people registered with employment services on the mainland fell by 11.0% compared to the same period last year and rose by 3.8% compared to the previous month.
Of these, 138,916 were single (-13.1% year-on-year), 93,343 were married (-10.6%), 35,447 were divorced (-7.6%), 26,310 were in a civil partnership (-5.7%) and 4,815 were widowed (-5.7%).
JO/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
