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Portugal's unemployment rate rises in Q4 of 2014

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal's unemployment rate rose 0.4 percentage points in the last three months of 2014 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to statistics released on Wednesday by Portugal's National Institute of Statistics (INE).

The country's unemployment rate at the end of 2014 was 13.9 percent, 2.3 percentage points lower than the previous year.

The unemployment rate from October to December in 2014 rose after six successive quarters of retreat in the figures.

Portugal's Minister for Solidarity, Employment and Social Security Pedro Mota Soares downplayed the figures in the fourth quarter, saying that the statistics reflected the country's efforts and labor reforms.

Portugal had to seek financial help from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank in 2011 and is trying to cut its budget deficit to 2.5 percent this year. Enditem