Between April and June this year, the number of temporary workers placed in Portuguese companies declined by 1.5% when compared to the same period a year ago, reports Expresso Portugal, citing research from the Portuguese Association of Companies in the Private Sector of Employment and Human Resources (APESPE RH) and by ISCTE (University Institute of Lisbon). In total there were 101,634 temporary workers were placed in national companies, 1.5% less than in the same period in 2022.

The slowdown in the economy may be behind this decline, but the recently approved legislative changes, within the scope of the Decent Work Agenda, which came into force in May this year, also place greater restrictions on companies in the use of Temporary Work (TT), the research stated.

Broken down by months, there were 342 fewer workers placed in April, 422 in May and 754 in June, compared to the same months last year. In sectoral terms, it was the companies ‘manufacturing components and accessories for motor vehicles’ that most used temporary hiring in the second quarter of the year, representing around 11% to 12% of the placements carried out.

Despite the growth compared to the second quarter of 2021 (9.5%) and 2020 (58.6%), temporary worker placements fell compared to 2022 and are now 11% below those recorded in the second quarter of 2019, in the pre-pandemic period.

Afonso Carvalho, president of APESPE-RH, explains the decrease in placements seen between April and June compared to the same period last year with ‘the economic situation we are currently experiencing’. But he also points out that the year-on-year increase seen compared to 2020 and 2021 reflects a context in which ‘to cover the cost of living in Portugal, many people are forced to have more than one job, in order to obtain extra income’.