Number of jobless and poorly educated youth in Portugal hits record low in Q2

The number of young people in Portugal aged between 15 to 34 who are neither working nor in education or training hit a record low in the second quarter, the Portuguese National Institute of Statistics revealed on Friday.

According to the figures released by the statistics agency, there were 290,000 young people, who were the so-called "neither-nor" generation, between April and June.

The statistics agency notes a downward trend since the third quarter of 2012 when the number reached 443,600.

Among the "neither-nor" group of youngsters registered in the second quarter of this year, 60.5 percent were unemployed and only 19.9 percent had completed higher education.

The majority, or 59.4 percent, were not studying in the second quarter of this year due to willingness to start working and financial constraints.

Around six out of 10 young people had had no professional experience while studying, the statistics agency adds in the report.

Around 89 percent of those in the "neither-nor" category had received no institutional support to find a job in the last 12 months, the statistics agency also found.

The number of young people neither working nor studying rose during the financial crisis. Portugal signed a 78-billion-euro(81.48 billion U.S. dollars) bailout in 2011 when it was on the verge of bankruptcy, leading to harsh tax hikes and spending cuts.

Portugal registered 0.8 percent growth compared to the previous quarter, the third highest in the euro area, reflecting acceleration of economic growth. The Portuguese economy is expected to grow by just 0.9 percent this year, according to the European Commission's autumn forecasts. Enditem