Government explains unemployment situation to members of the Rotary Club of Ponta Delgada
At the invitation of the Rotary Club of Ponta Delgada, the Regional Director for Labour, Professional Qualification and Consumer Defence explained in Ponta Delgada on Wednesday the current employment and unemployment situation in the Azores.
Refuting the unemployment figures presented by various opposition parties, Rui Bettencourt reiterated that there are 6,750 people registered in the employment centres in the Region and that the Azores maintain the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
“This 6,750 have names, career profiles and the desire to pursue a career and we have been monitoring them so that they may have a greater employability,” added the Regional Director.
According to Rui Bettencourt, the coverage rate of the number of unemployed in the Region stands at 82%, while the national rate is 60%, which demonstrates that 82% of the registered people are enrolled in occupational programmes, benefiting from an unemployment allowance or a social employment allowance.
Regarding the unemployment duration, the Regional Director stressed that 80% of the people are unemployed for less than a year, while at a national level this rate stands at 50%.
“We are determined to provide responses that minimise and reduce the unemployment period. A decade ago, 52% of the unemployed were registered in unemployment agencies for over a year, while nowadays they only represent 20%,” explained the Regional Director.
According to Rui Bettencourt, one of the “weaknesses” of unemployment in the Region is related with the low skills of some Azoreans, for that reason the Government continues to promote the qualification of the Azoreans.