The employed population registered in the Azores in the third quarter of 2017 is the highest since 2008, according to figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
 
The employed population is estimated at 112,351 workers. There are 13,358 more employed Azoreans than in 2014, the year when the unemployment rate reached 18 percent.
 
Comparatively, the number of unemployed fell 54 percent.
 
Thus, according to INE, the unemployment rate is now less than half of what it was in the first quarter of 2014.
 
The unemployment rate dropped to 8.2 percent in the third quarter of this year, the lowest in almost seven years in the Region. It is even below the national average, which also fell to 8.5 percent.
 
The data from the Quarterly Employment Survey conducted by INE show an increase in job creation compared to the previous quarter and the same period of last year, registering an increase of 3.8%. This represents the creation of 4,140 jobs in the Region.
 
All sectors of economic activity recorded a growth in terms of employed population in the months of July, August and September, compared to the same quarter of 2016.
 
As for economic sectors, the INE data also show an increase of 18.1 percent in the primary sector, 5.5 percent in the secondary sector and 1.7 per cent in the tertiary sector. The sub-sector of construction registered an increase of 12.4 percent.
 
With regard to the estimated number of unemployed, this is the lowest in series of the Employment Survey published 27 quarters ago, having as reference the fourth quarter of 2010.
 
Unemployment fell 22.5 percent compared to the same period of last year, representing 2,922 fewer unemployed. In relation to the previous three months, the decrease stands at 17.8 percent, which corresponds to 2,180 fewer unemployed.
 
Unemployment has been dropping for the 13th consecutive quarter, i.e., for more than three years.
 
The rise in employment and the decrease in unemployment occur at a time when the labour force is growing.
 
According to INE data, this is the third consecutive quarter in which in the labour force and employed population grow while unemployment drops.