According to the appeals committee report, an “important part” is linked to alleged failures in CTT, a problem that has been going on for several years, but which seems to have no solution in sight for now, according to a report by ECO.

Although the year 2023 was synonymous with the “full return to normality” post-pandemic, inflation, interest rates, the economic slowdown and international uncertainty led unemployment to increase in Portugal. Thus, the IEFP closed the year with 317,659 registered individuals, 9% more than in the previous year.

Accompanying this increase, the average number of people receiving unemployment benefits also grew, albeit more discreetly, from 151,521 in 2022 to 151,995 in 2023. This is an increase of 0.3% in those receiving benefits.

In contrast, in 2023 there were fewer people who saw their unemployment benefit cancelled for non-compliance with the duties set out in the law — namely, the duty to accept suitable employment, attend call-ups and undertake professional training.

In total, last year, the IEFP cut unemployment benefits to 5,403 people, a drop of 7.1% compared to 2022, the year in which the number of annulments reached a ten-year high.

Of these 5,403 people, a very significant portion (2,564) were registered with services in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, the region that recorded the highest number of cancellations. Alentejo stood out as the area of the country with the fewest cancellations of unemployment benefits (262).

As for the reasons for cancellation (the law provides for nine possibilities), failure to call the employment services was the most frequent reason. Almost four thousand people saw their unemployment benefit cut for this reason.

Other frequent reasons for the cancellation of benefits were the lack of control over the duty to actively search for a job (11%, 506 cases), failure to appear at referral entities (9%, 502 cases), refusal of suitable employment (3%, 173 cases), and unjustified withdrawal from professional training (2%, 115 cases).