The Algarve continued to record an unemployment rate above the national average in the first quarter of 2026, according to data released this Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
Between January and March, the unemployment rate in the region was 6.7%, exceeding the national figure of 6.1% and placing the Algarve among the three regions of the country with the worst record, alongside Greater Lisbon (7.4%) and the Setúbal Peninsula (6.8%).
The numbers show that, despite the annual drop in unemployment in Portugal, the Algarve region continues to be under greater pressure than the majority of the national territory.
According to INE, only these three regions were above average, while the North registered 6.0%, the West and Tagus Valley 5.6%, the Alentejo 5.5%, the Azores 5.4%, the Center 5.0% and Madeira 4.5%.
Nationally, the unemployment rate fell to 6.1%
At a national level, the unemployment rate fell to 6.1% in the first quarter, 0.5 percentage points less than in the same period in 2025. Even so, it rose 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous quarter. In total, the unemployed population was estimated at 346.3 thousand people, which represents an increase of 6.1% overall, but a reduction of 5.3% in the annual comparison.
Without detailing the absolute number of unemployed people by region, INE says that, compared to the first quarter of 2025, the unemployment rate only increased in Greater Lisbon, having decreased in other regions, including the Algarve. National data also shows an improvement in youth unemployment.
The unemployment rate between 16 and 24 years old was estimated at 19.1%, 0.7 percentage points lower than the previous quarter and 2.1 percentage points lower compared to the same period last year.
The underutilization of labor, which includes unemployed, part-time underemployed and inactive people available for work, covered 588 thousand people. The rate was 10.2%, above the previous quarter, but below the value recorded a year ago.
35.6% of the unemployed population had been without work for 12 months or more
With regard to long-term unemployment, 35.6% of the unemployed population had been out of work for 12 months or more, a figure lower than both the previous quarter and the same quarter.
It also estimates that the employed population reached 5.3 million people in the first quarter, 2.3% more than a year ago, although 0.7% less than in the previous quarter. Teleworking covered 21.1% of the employed population, corresponding to 1.118 million people.
Despite the overall improvement in the country’s job market, the Algarve remains among the regions most pressured by unemployment, remaining above the national average at the start of 2026.
Also read:
