Publication of the Report “Employment in Portugal – Diagnosis and Recommendations for Public Policy and Business Strategies”

On 26 May, the report Employment in Portugal – Diagnosis and Recommendations for Public Policy and Business Strategies was presented. The report was coordinated by CoLABOR – Collaborative Laboratory for Labour, Employment and Social Protection, and included the participation of Professor Ana Paula Dourado, Dr Claudia Marchetti da Silva, Dr André Mendes Barata and Dr Maria Albuquerque, researchers at CIDEEFF.

The report identifies nine structural issues that continue to constrain the functioning and growth potential of the Portuguese labour market, as well as five priority areas for action. The main challenges highlighted include difficulties in expanding the labour force, obstacles to the recruitment and retention of workers, the underutilisation of the potential active population, the mismatch between productivity and wages, shortcomings in the tax system, challenges associated with the integration of immigrant labour, the need for coordination between different levels of social dialogue and collective bargaining, and the diversification of Social Security financing.

In response to these challenges, the report proposes five priority areas for intervention:

• restructuring the economy by increasing the importance of strategic and higher value-added sectors;
• Strengthening vocational and technical education;
• Developing reskilling programmes for the digital and green transitions tailored to vulnerable workers;
• Promoting the integration of immigrant workers; and r
• Reinforcing tax and financial literacy throughout life.

The study and recommendations were presented at the Manuel António da Mota Foundation and are available on the project website at https://eep.colabor.pt/ or via the “Download PDF” section.