The Vice-President of the Government stressed the "further reduction" in the unemployment rate in the Azores. According to data released by the National Statistics Institute, the Region "continues to register a significant recovery and the resumption of employment."
Highlighting the reduction of 31 percent in the regional employment rate in just two years, Sérgio Ávila pointed out that the unemployment rate recorded in the end of March was "2.5 percentage points lower than the year before, representing a reduction of 17 percent in the annual unemployment rate and 5.6 percentage points lower than that registered only two years ago.
"In March, there were 3680 fewer Azorean unemployed compared to the previous year (minus 20 percent), and 6,772 fewer unemployed than in 2014 (minus 31 percent)," said Sérgio Ávila.
However, the Vice-President stressed the Azores also register for the ninth consecutive quarter a growth of the employed population compared to the same quarter of last year.
"Indeed, there are 6,631 more Azorean workers than there were just two years ago," Sérgio Ávila said, adding that "the current unemployment rate of 12.4 percent is lower than the previous quarter (12.6 percent) and that registered a year ago (14.9 percent) and much lower than in 2014 (18 percent)."
The government official also stressed that the unemployment rate in the Azores is no longer above the national average and is already below the figures registered in the Norte region, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, Alentejo and Madeira.
"These results, which confirm the sustained downward trend in unemployment, are positive and represent a trend that the Government of the Azores intends to further strengthen this year," said Sérgio Ávila. According to him, "what has been achieved should only strengthen the commitment, the determination and the will to increase active policies for job creation, so that the decline in unemployment becomes even more pronounced.”
"There are now 5,392 more Azorean employees than in the beginning of this legislative period and, from the second quarter of 2015, the number of Azoreans employees is always higher than that recorded since the third quarter of 2011, i.e., the last four years. However, we restate that while there is an unemployed Azorean, we will not be satisfied and we will do everything to find a solution, as we have achieved for the thousand of Azoreans who have found employment during this legislative period," said Sérgio Ávila.