Portugal's unemployment rate climbs to 14 per cent

Feb 16, 2012, 15:24 GMT

Lisbon - Portugal's unemployment rate rose to 14 per cent in the last quarter of 2011, up from 12.4 per cent in the previous quarter, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said Thursday.

The number of people registered as jobless crossed 770,000 amid the deepening recession.

Among those aged between 14-24 years, the unemployment rate was 35.4 per cent at the end of 2011.

Economist Francisco Madelino said it would be difficult to maintain the jobless rate below the 15-per-cent mark in 2012.

The left-wing opposition attributed the growing unemployment to Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho's austerity policies, such as spending cuts, which follow guidelines agreed to with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

The two institutions granted Lisbon a bailout worth 78 billion euros (101 billion dollars) in May.

If the government imposed 'more sacrifices' on the Portuguese, jobs would continue to be lost, said Marina Aiveca from Left Bloc. She called for 'measures favouring public investment.'

Carlos Zorrinho from the main opposition Socialist Party said the unemployment figures were 'unsustainable.'

Miguel Relvas, an assistant minister for parliamentary affairs, admitted that the figures were 'worrying,' but emphasized that the government was 'on the right track' to creating jobs.