The figures are from the Ministry of Labor and are for the month of September. The data, released this Tuesday, point to a drop of 3.8% over the same period.
▲ According to the document, employment grew 3.8% in mainland Portugal in the third quarter
– LUSA
The number of workers earning the national minimum wage (SMN) reached 720,800 in September, a reduction of 28 thousand compared to the same month last year, according to data from the Ministry of Labor released this Tuesday.
According to the strategy and planning office of the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, the year-on-year decrease was 3.8%.
The figures reflect a year-on-year reduction in the proportion of minimum wage earners, which rose from 21.7% to 20.1% between the third quarter of 2018 and the same period of 2019.
“This decrease contrasts with the pattern normally associated with the NMS update and is significant mainly because it occurs in a context of marked employment growth,” stresses the ministry cabinet led by Ana Mendes Godinho.
According to the document, employment grew by 3.8% in mainland Portugal in the third quarter, based on the Social Security Remuneration Statements (DRSS).
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“This trend suggests that employment growth has occurred mainly in the wage brackets above the NMS, resulting in a decrease in the incidence of the minimum wage,” says the same source.
In September, the average remuneration increased 3% compared to the same month of the previous year, to 956.5 euros.
On the other hand, considering the first nine months of 2019, the proportion of workers covered by the minimum wage was 21.3%, down 1.1 percentage points over the same period in 2018.
In the nine months, the number of workers receiving the minimum wage fell by 7,500, in a context where 139,100 net jobs were created, says the Ministry of Labor.
The minimum wage was set this year at 600 euros and in the last four years it has increased by 19% in nominal terms and 14% in real terms (discounting inflation).
The amount for next year is expected to be closed at the Social Concertation on Wednesday, with the government aiming to reach 750 euros by 2023.
