The number of registered unemployed in the labor market continues to fall and fell to 330,587 people in July, according to data from the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP), which was released on Tuesday.

This figure reflects a reduction of 20.6% (fewer 85,688 people) compared with July 2017 and a decrease of 0.5% (1,808 fewer people) than in June.

In order to find a lower value for registered unemployment in Portugal, it is also necessary to go back 16 years, right up to July 2002. At that moment, 326,593 unemployed were registered in the employment offices.

This downward trend concerned youth unemployment. 31,100 unemployed young people are now registered in the IEFP, 30% less than a year earlier.

Also falling is registered long-term unemployment. More than a year now 160,500 unemployed have been registered in employment offices, 24.2% less than in July 2017.

The figures of the National Institute of Statistics (INE), whose methodology differs from the registered unemployment rate of IPFP, because they estimate unemployment through the employment survey, indicate a decline in unemployment in Portugal. According to INE, 351.8 thousand people were unemployed in Portugal in the second quarter, a decrease of 23.7% (109.6 thousand) compared to the same period in 2017.