According to the monthly statistics per municipality from the Institute for Employment and Professional Training (IEFP), the Northern region counted in October a total of 153,022 people registered as unemployed, 58 percent of whom were women.

Of the total registered, more than half - which corresponds to 87,902 people - have been enrolled in the IEFP for less than a year.

Compared to February, the last month before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country, when the northern region had 124,337 people registered as unemployed, there were 28,685 more unemployed.

Also in comparison with the same period in 2019, when there were 124,078 people, the northern region registered a further 28,944 people in employment centres.

Of the more than 153,000 people registered in October, 13,780 are looking for their first job, which represents an additional 2,252 people compared to February.

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the month with the highest number of people registered in employment centres in the North was August, with 158,013 people.

According to the IEFP, the number of unemployed registered in the employment centres increased by 34.5 percent in October in year-on-year terms and decreased by 1.6 percent compared to September.

The IMF forecasts a 10 percent drop in the Portuguese economy in 2020, and a 6.5 percent recovery in 2021.

These forecasts differ from those of the Portuguese government, which expects the economy to fall by 8.5 percent this year and recover by 5.4 percent in 2021.