Summer is approaching, but the tourism sector has its door closed to the recruitment of workers, due to the uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Result? In March, according to data released today by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training, in the Algarve the number of unemployed people registered rose 41,4% compared to the same month last year.
The rise in unemployment in the Algarve was 14 times greater than that registered at national level, which stood at 3%, and this is due to the regional recruitment scenario: linked to Tourism and its seasonal activity.
To understand how serious the unemployment situation in the Algarve region is, the Alentejo was the second region to experience the highest year-on-year increase, but there it only grew by 9,8%.
The first months of the year are usually lavish in recruitment fairs and massive hiring of workers. In recent years, tourist companies complained of lack of manpower. This year will not be like that.
According to the IEFP statistical bulletin, at the end of March, there were 21636 registered in the Algarve job centers, 6331 more than in the same month of 2019.
If in the first months of the year there is usually a trend towards a progressive decrease in the number of unemployed people registered, in 2020 this did not happen: compared to February, the number of registered people rose from 19188 to 21636 (+12,8%).
With regard to the total number of registrations in the Algarve's employment services, the percentage increase compared to March 2019 is even greater: 151,3%.
In all, there were 4426 registrations in the IEFP, 2665 more than in March 2019 and 2298 more than in February this year. However, a worker can make more than one application during the month, for example, if he leaves the job during the probationary period, on his own initiative, or at the employer's initiative.
Madalena Feu, IEFP regional delegate, explained to the Sul Informação that “this happened at a time when unemployment was falling in the Algarve. Hotels and catering begin to recruit with Carnival, with Easter and continue until summer. February is the peak season for golf and there were subscribers leaving at that time. However, those who left in February, with the golf stop, came back in March».
The official emphasizes that “due to the closing of borders caused by the pandemic and the containment measures to prevent the spread of the virus, there were natural downturns in activity in a sector that is preponderant. The Algarve is home to 90% of the tourism sector and, therefore, it is a region that suffers more than others. As Dr. Vítor Neto, president of NERA, says, the Algarve doesn't have too much Tourism, it has fewer other sectors».
The situation, being to be expected, taking into account what happened in the last month, «was totally unexpected 30 days ago. Everything has changed. It seems that this has been going on for a year, but we have been experiencing this situation for just a month».
Despite the scenario that does not appear bright, for the coming months in the Algarve, Madalena Feu believes that the situation will "recompose" and recalls that "in the crisis, between 2009 and 2015, the Algarve was the first region to see the increase in the unemployment, but was also the first to recover. Here the same will happen».
However, there are signs that this recovery may not happen in 2020, as there are hotels considering not reopening doors this year, bearing in mind that, even in summer, the expected occupancy rates are around 15% to 25%.
According to IEFP data, there is another bad news, although it is predictable: job offers also plummeted in the third month of the year. There are 817 fewer job offers in the Algarve in March 2020 than in 2019 (-59,2%).
Compared to February this year, the decrease in the number of offers was 30,1% (-243). There are 563 job offers active in the Algarve.
Madalena Feu emphasizes that these data «end up always being aligned. Fewer available jobs lead to more unemployment. The entire offer of the tourism sector, which is the one that usually exists at this time, suffered a drop».
The drop in demand for workers, mainly from the hotel industry, also reached temporary work companies. Ricardo Mariano, CEO of Timing, told our newspaper that his turnover «in April will be between 20 to 25% of our forecasts». That is, the break can reach 80%.
"In March, we had no year-on-year decline, but it was because we were in a growth phase," added the businessman.
At national level, at the end of March there were 343.761 registered unemployed in Portugal, 9.985 more than in the same month last year. In relation to February, there were more than 28.199 subscribers.
«To the increase in registered unemployment, compared to the same month of 2019, all groups of the unemployed file contributed, with emphasis on men, adults aged over 25, those registered for less than a year, the who were looking for a new job and those with secondary school qualifications», states the IEFP.
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