Wages in Portugal have grown above inflation

Wages in Portugal have grown above inflation - Portugal Business News

News Wages Europe - Wages in Portugal have grown above inflation with wages growing by 4.8% in nominal terms, while inflation stood at 2.2% in 2025, according to the “Report on Employment and Training – 2025” launched on July 21st, 2026. Here is Portugal´s total Wage Bill, the percentage of its active population, its employment and unemployment rates, as well as the size of enterprises employing the highest percentage of Portugal´s active population:

What is Portugal´s total Wage Bill?

Wages in Portugal regained purchasing power by growing above the average consumer price increase, with Portugal´s total wage bill, including social security contributions paid by employers, amounting to 48.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a figure that is already in line with the European Union benchmark.

What is Portugal´s working age or active population?

Portugal´s working age or active population increased by 2.7%, reaching 5,612 million people. The activity rate of Portugal´s population aged 16 and over rose by 0.8 percentage points to 61%.

What is Portugal´s employment rate?

Portugal´s employment rate increased by 0.9 percentage points, reaching 57.3%. The number of employed people in Portugal grew by 3.2%, to reach 5,275 million.

What is the employment rate of people above 55 years old in Portugal?

The employment rate of people between 55 and 64 years old in Portugal grew by 3.3%, a trend that suggests a prolongation of working life. The employment rate for people aged 55 to 64 also rose by 1.9 percentage points, to 69.5%.

The employment rate of people of people aged 65 or older in Portugal increased by 6.4%.

What is the unemployment rate in Portugal?

The unemployment rate in Portugal fell by by 6%, the same as the European Union average. The unemployed population decreased by 4%, to reach around 337,000 people.

Despite the overall improvement in Portugal´s unemployment rate, youth unemployment remains high. Among people aged 16 to 24, the unemployment rate stood at 19.5%, although it decreased by 2.1 percentage points in 2025 compared to 2024.

The early school leaving rate in Portugal was 6.1%, below the 9.1% average recorded in the European Union.

The percentage of young people aged 15 to 29 who are neither working, studying, nor attending a training institution also remained below the European average, representing around 8% of the young population in Portugal, which is lower than the EU average that is 11%.

What is the size of enterprises employing the highest percentage of Portugal´s active population?

The size of enterprises employing the highest percentage of Portugal´s active population is Micro-enterprises that represent 81.3% of employees.

81.3% of companies in Portugal had up to nine employees in 2024.

Companies with 10 to 49 employees represented 15.5% of the total active population in Portugal.

Only 3.3% of companies in Portugal had 50 or more employees.

Here is the link to the Minimum Wage in Portugal in 2026 and 2027.