Portugal’s unemployment rate dropped for the second straight month in March, preliminary figures from Statistics Portugal showed Wednesday.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate fell slightly to 13.5 percent in March from 13.6 percent in the previous month. In January, the rate was 13.8 percent.
The number of unemployed people decreased to 692,600 in March from 699,400 in February. Meanwhile, employed population grew to 4.44 million from 4.43 million
On an unadjusted basis, the jobless rate declined to 13.7 percent in March from 14.0 percent in the preceding month.
In an another report, the statistical office announced that consumer confidence worsened slightly in April, suspending the pronounced upward trend observed since the beginning of 2013
The consumer confidence indicator fell to -19.4 in April from -19.2 in the previous month, which was highest reading since April 2002.
The overall economic sentiment indicator rose further to 0.8 in April from 0.6 in March.
Among sub-indices, the confidence indicator in the manufacturing sector improved in April, with the index rising to -3.9 from -5.2. Similarly, services confidence indicator rose to 0.3 from -2.6
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