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Portugal's unemployment rate rises to 14.1 pct in February

Xinhua, March 31, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal's unemployment rate rose to 14.1 percent in February, from 13.8 percent the previous month, the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics (INE) revealed Monday.

Around 719,600 people aged 15 to 24 were unemployed in February, 11,700 more people than in January, according to INE estimates. The unemployment rate was 0.8 percentage points lower than in the same period last year.

Youth unemployment is especially worrying, standing at 35 percent in February, from 34.5 percent in January.

Portugal emerged from a 78 billion euros (84.40 billion U.S. dollars) bailout program in May last year, which forced the government to enforce changes to social welfare, leading to mass layoffs and salary cuts.

Though the jobs picture is still grim, Portugal's economy is improving, with GDP expanding in the fourth quarter at the fastest rate in a year.

The country is still struggling to reduce its public debt, which still stands at around 130 percent of GDP.

The center-right government led by Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho is aiming for 1.5 percent growth this year after 0.9 percent growth in 2014. Enditem