The National Institute of Statistics (INE) announced Friday that the number of unemployed increased by 144,700 people in the third trimester of the year.

The new figures represents an increase of around 3 per cent compared to the previous trimester. The unemployment rate now stands at 21,52%, and the total number of unemployment is on the verge of 5 million.

Precisely, 4,978,300 people were without work at the end of September, representing an increase of over 400,000 people compared to last year (8.8 per cent increase).