According to a study by IEFP/Iscte, unemployed immigrants are mainly made up of young people from Portuguese-speaking countries (64.9%), mostly Brazilian, and are concentrated in the Lisbon region. The majority of these immigrants completed secondary education (63.5%) and only a fifth (21.7%) received unemployment benefits.

“The weight of immigrants in the job market in Portugal is increasing and, as the immigrant population is predominantly young, this increases the number of young immigrants looking for work”, says Paulo Marques, researcher and teacher at Iscte and coordinator of the Youth Employment Observatory. “These young immigrants have, on average, a good educational background, have little access to unemployment benefits, are absorbed more quickly by the market, and accept less desirable jobs”.

Paulo Marques states that “immigrants are willing to accept jobs that are worse than their initial expectations, helping to explain why they enter the job market more quickly than most young people in Portugal”. The average duration for young immigrants to register with the IEFP is five months, compared to 11 months for young people in general.

According to the study, “it is clear that immigrants occupy positions in the least attractive sectors of activity”. The administrative activities and support services sector – which includes, for example, activities such as cleaning and security services – absorbs 35.9% of immigrants placed: as it relies heavily on non-permanent contracts, it is little desired by young people – however, as immigrants have increased pressure to find work due to residency visa requirements and economic difficulties, they often accept these jobs.

“Two consequences arise from this: immigrants are mostly meeting labour needs in unskilled sectors – and these sectors are able to sustain themselves because they turn to immigrants”, says Paulo Marques. “Public policies are necessary that favour better working conditions, at the same time that the IEFP must prepare its services to improve job offers for young immigrants, adapting them more to their qualifications and allowing a greater number to be able to enter sectors with greater knowledge intensity, making the Portuguese economy more competitive”.

In the recommendations made at the end of the study, it is suggested that there be greater monitoring of immigrants registered with the IEFP, preparing its services to better serve a large number of young people who do not speak Portuguese. It is also recommended that the recognition of qualifications be speeded up, seeking to increase the insertion of immigrants in economic sectors that contribute to the modernization of the national economic fabric.