Number of people receiving unemployment benefits on the … – publico

                 

                         
                     

                 

 
                         

The number of people receiving unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level since January 2009. In May, the Institute of Social Security (ISS) realizes 279,563 beneficiaries with unemployment benefits, less 18.1% of that in May last year and a decrease of 3.6% compared to April.

                     

                         To find a lower value it is necessary to go back to January 2009, when just over 277 000 people were receiving benefits. From then on, the number was constantly growing, with some exceptions, following the sharp rise in the unemployment rate and the number of people registered at job centers. The decline registered now turns out to reflect the recovery of the work being felt and reflected in the records of the Employment and Professional Training Institute of the market (see chart).

The data released by the ISS concern various types of subsidy, and said normal unemployment benefit is the large share of beneficiaries, followed by the social benefit of subsequent unemployment, the initial social benefits and the extension of this social benefit.

The subsidy Unemployment in normal version is not available to everyone. It must be registered with the employment centers of the IEFP, have lost their jobs involuntarily and have cashed Social Security for at least 12 months. In some cases, when they have no other income or when the registration time does not reach the required minimum, the unemployed can receive unemployment assistance in its various forms. In May, about half of the 554,000 registered in the IEFP was not entitled to any protection.

The ISS also revealed that the average benefit was 448.45 euros in May, less than 1.75 euros April and 16.10 euros less than the same month of 2014. The developments in the provision is related to the average wage of workers who fall in unemployment, since it corresponds to a percentage of that income, but may not exceed a limit maximum.

The evolution of the number of grant recipients has been following the fall of registered unemployed in IEFP. Data on the situation in late May, released on Friday of last week, realize 554 070 people registered as being unemployed, a decline of nearly 13% over the same month and 3.4% compared to April .

And even the development of new unemployed, ie people who signed up in May fell to 48,152, the lowest level since April 2011. This indicator is one that allows us to understand the evolution of the labor market, since the total amount of subscribers can be influenced by the greater or lesser number of people who are engaged in employment programs and vocational training and therefore no longer counted as unemployed.

The unemployment downward trend has also been observed in the employment survey conducted by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The latest monthly data show that, after a rise in late 2014, January here there is a downward trend in the unemployment rate in Portugal. Rose from 13.7% in January to 13% in April (seasonally adjusted data).

The maximum number of recipients of unemployment benefits was recorded in February 2013 when the ISS gave bill payment services 419 360. This peak coincided with the historically high number of unemployed registered in the IEFP (739,611, the second highest since data is available).