Actually, the Algarve was the only region in Portugal to register positive results precisely because of the seasonal cycle that sees the creation of a large number of temp jobs directly connected to the tourism sector.

According to data from the Institute of Employment and Professional Training – IEFP – the month of July saw 25,928 unemployed individuals in the region, representing a 6.9% and a 1.4% drop when compared to June 2013 and July 2012.

The region is enjoying an overall tourism boom this summer season with information from the Association of Hotels and Resorts of the Algarve – AHETA – reporting occupancy rate per room in July was 81,6% which means a 3.7% increase when compared with the same month in 2012.

The data from the IEFT also shows a large increase in the number of individuals searching for their first job. These individuals number 58,722 now, indicating a 17.5% and 2.9% hike when compared with the same period in 2012 and June this year, respectively.

When it comes to those individuals who have lost their jobs in the past year and are now looking for work, there’s been a 4% increase in July compared to 2012, but a 0.6% decrease in relation to June. These individuals make up 629,377 of the jobless population.

The bane of the population still continues to be long-term unemployment. The data from this point is not very optimistic, recording a 1.1% increase in July compared to June and a 27.1% rise when compared to July of 2012. Long-term unemployment means being out of a job for more than 12 months and almost half the people signed up at job centres are affected by it.

Overall the country’s unemployment rate was down to 16.4% in the second quarter of 2013, from 17.5% in the first quarter.

This all-embracing programme will include fifty new measures designed to produce more financial aid, increase the potential to expand business at the international level, streamline the training of employees linked to the two sectors while at the same time boosting the rate of employments.

The official document of commitment was signed in Lisbon, after which the Minister of Employment, Alvaro Santos Pereira, made a very inspirational statement saying that this day marks a change in an important sector to the country’s economic reform. He continued to say that this pledge is not a return to the past but a road to a more sustainable future.

The rescue package comes in response to the glaring need for more competitive and sustainable forces in the construction sector. The Minister added that the Portuguese Government is not going to adopt the defeatist policy of seeking bailout assistance from the outside.

The Governmental pledge to aid municipal authorities pay their debts to builders stays firm, and in order to achieve this 750 million Euros have already been contracted.

The Government is aware of the importance of the real estate and building sectors, the Minister mentioning this as well as the fact that it is necessary to consolidate public spending while helping them.

As we mentioned earlier the programme will also include various project for urban rehabilitation, internationalization and professional training within these sectors.

The Government rescue package is focused on real estate and construction because these two sectors are crucial to the recovery of growth in Portugal, they employ more than six hundred thousand people and account for 18% of GDP.

One of the measures in the rescue package programme, meant to curb unemployment, is to retrain people from other areas of work to transfer them to the construction and real estate sectors, or their ramifications.

Another of the measures also wants to provide companies in those sectors access to credit lines and EU funding.