The most recent Eurostat data, released this Monday, shows that the Most regions in Portugal have already exceeded the European target of 78% for the employment rate.
Of the seven regions, only the North and West and Tagus Valley have not yet achieved this objectiveestablished for 2030 under the action plan on social rights in the European Union.
In 2024, the employment rate in the European Union registered 75.8%, a historic value, but still below the target by 2.2 percentage points. Almost half of the regions in the Member States (46.5%, or 113 out of 243) have already reached or exceeded the aforementioned 78% threshold.
In Portugal, the regions of Centro (78.5%), Greater Lisbon (81.1%), Península de Setúbal (78.8%), Alentejo (79.7%) and Algarve (79.8%) stand out..On the other hand, the North (77.4%) and the West and Tagus Valley (76.7%) are still below the target.
The Eurostat report also indicates that Czechia and Denmark lead in terms of regions that exceeded the targetwith all its regions above 78%.
However, 65 of the 243 regions analyzed had employment rates below 73.5%, many of them being rural or peripheral areas, such as in some parts of southern Spain, Italy, Greece, Romania and France.
Eurostat highlights that industrial regions that have failed to adapt to market changes are also among those with the lowest employment rates.