Despite the pressures that companies currently face, the trend continues to be positive in the job market. In the second quarter, the number of people employed grew both in the European Union and the Eurozone as a whole. And Portugal was actually one of the countries that saw employment increase the most between April and June.

“The number of people employed increased by 0.2% in the Eurozone and 0.1% in the European Union (EU), in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter”, indicates the statistics office. In year-on-year terms, employment grew 1.3% in the single currency area and 1.1% in the community bloc.

This data reflects the resilience that the labour market has shown, despite the pressures placed on employers, particularly as a result of the ongoing conflict in the east of the continent.

Still, it is important to highlight that there was a slowdown in employment between April and June. For example, at the start of the year, the number of people employed in the Eurozone grew by 1.6% compared to the same period in 2022. The 1.3% variation recorded, as mentioned, in the second quarter is, therefore, synonymous with a slowdown.

Among the various Member States, Portugal, Lithuania and Malta stood out: with a 1.3% growth in the number of people employed compared to the previous quarter, they surpassed the variations recorded in all other countries.

In contrast, the biggest decline in employment was recorded in Estonia (-1.5%), Romania (-0.8%) and Croatia (-0.7%).