The Secretary of State for Labor, Miguel Fontes, considered this Friday that the unemployment rate, which the INE indicated it had set at 6.4% in May, “is at historically very low levels”, which is “a good problem ” for the goverment.
“We looked at these numbers and this unemployment rate yesterday. [quinta-feira] published by the INE [Instituto Nacional de Estatística] 6.4%, with great confidence, without triumphalism. They are very positive numbers,” he said.
On the sidelines of the 1st Coimbra Employment Fair and Training Exhibition, which takes place at the Convento de S. Francisco, the official highlighted that the unemployment numbers, referring to May, do this month one of the best “in a very long series of years.”
“We have one universe of unemployed that is particularly small and I usually say that this is a good problem. As Secretary of State for Labor, I prefer to have this problem than the opposite, which is the problem of a high level of unemployment”, he maintained.
In his opinion, these numbers challenge businessmen, who “have to compete for talent, for the people factor.”
“This brings with it some positive dynamics, one of which is the increase in wages for Portuguese workers. So far this year we have seen a significant increase this year, of around 8% in the work that is declared to Social Security, which gives us special satisfaction, ”he said.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency, he also defended that by improving the wages and working conditions of the Portuguese, one contributes to a more robust and competitive economy.
“It’s not one before the other: it’s us doing all of this simultaneously. Today, if something characterizes contemporary societies and the companies that operate in the market, it is the competition for talent”, he concluded.
The unemployment rate stood at 6.4% in May, with an interannual increase of 0.4 percentage points, but a decrease of 0.1 points with respect to the value registered in the previous month, according to INE data.
According to the statistical authority, the unemployed population (338,600) decreased in relation to the previous month (1.7%) and three months before (6.4%), having increased in relation to the same month (8.5%).
Source: Observadora
