Eurostat data shows the unemployment rate in September remained at 5.6% in Portugal, a 0.3 percentage point decrease compared to September 2025. In the Eurozone and the EU, the rate rose to 6.5% and 6.2%, respectively, compared to the same month last year, while remaining stable month-on-month.
This update is from Bica
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Eurostat estimates that year-on-year inflation in the Eurozone rose to 4.0% in October, up from 3.8% in September and 2.1% in October 2025. Energy prices saw the largest annual increase at 20.8%, followed by services at 3.3%, food, alcohol and tobacco at 1.6%, and non-energy industrial goods at 1.2%.
The national unemployment rate reached 5.5% between July and September 2026, an increase of 0.2 percentage points over the previous quarter. Youth unemployment (ages 16-24) rose to 19.9%, while the total number of unemployed people is estimated at 316,800.
The European Central Bank's latest survey of over 12,800 businesses in the eurozone shows that 46% experienced an increase in bank loan interest rates during the third quarter of 2026, up from 42% in the previous quarter. Companies reported both higher interest rates and increased non-interest financing costs, such as fees and collateral requirements, while also noting a decline in the availability of bank loans.