The first half of this year – despite the sudden and rising inflation and several serious signs for the future evolution of the economy, such as the crisis caused by the war in Ukraine that started in February – was still marked by a significant increase in the job creation, a sharp drop in unemployment compared to the first half of 2021, due to the increase in the national minimum wage at the beginning of 2022 and the update of pensions (plus the extra increase of about 10 euros).
But these forces tend to fade and other more negative forces are on the rise, such as interest rates, inflation and the rapid slowdown in activity.
These favorable factors have enabled us, among other things, to avoid major setbacks in the disposable income of many Portuguese households, according to the results of a study by the Bank of Portugal (BdP), published ad hoc in the context of the Economic Bulletin of October, this Tuesday. .
However, the situation will tend to deteriorate in the second half of the year, a period already suffering from the effects of rising interest rates, even higher inflation and the bumps in economic activity caused by the international crisis, which could be stopped.
Luís Reis Ribeiro is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
