Portugal Jobless Rate Falling

The unemployment rate in Portugal fell 1.3 percentage points to 8.8% in the second quarter of 2017 compared with the previous quarter and was 2% down in comparison with the same period in 2016, the Portuguese National Statistics Institute said, Portugalnews reported. The job numbers published show that 461,400 people were out of work, a 11.9% reduction (62,500 fewer), in the second quarter, continuing the quarterly reductions seen since the second quarter of 2016. A former eurozone bailout recipient, Portugal’s unemployment rate topped 17% at the height of its economic woes in 2013. But the country’s recovery has gained steady momentum in the last year leading Lisbon to exit the EU’s excessive budget procedure for the first time since 2011 earlier this year. Underscoring how the eurozone’s broad-based rebound is spreading across the continent, figures from Italian industry Friday showed the sector enjoyed its best performance in six months in June.