The number of unemployed registered in the Agencies for Qualification and Employment dropped 10.2 percent in February. According to data published today by the Employment and Vocational Training Institute (IEFP), this figure represents the lowest value of the last six years.
 
According to these data and keeping the trend of the previous months, we need to go back to October 2011 to find a lower number than that recorded in the month under analysis.
 
The Agencies for Qualification and Employment of the Azores registered 8,630 unemployed in February.
 
According to IEFP data, the new decrease registered in February corresponds to fewer 981 registered unemployed, compared to the same month of 2017.
 
Besides the decrease in comparison to the same month of the previous year, there was also a decrease in the number of registered unemployed in February compared to January this year.
 
The decline observed in these months reveal the efforts towards job creation to counter the effects of the so-called seasonality in the labour market.
 
According to the same source, the number of people enrolled in socio-occupational, employability and vocational training programmes dropped by 1,285 compared to February 2017.
 
This sharp decline represents a decrease of 18 percent.
 
From the moment when the Region registered the highest number of unemployed, there has been a consistent and steady reduction in the Azores.
 
This progressive and consistent reduction in registered unemployment is the result of the actions jointly developed by Azorean companies and workers, the implementation of public measures to support the creation of more and better jobs and the sustained growth of the regional economy.