Job creation in the state slowed again in September, growing just 1.3% year-on-year to 733,771 jobs, the slowest pace since June 2018, according to the statistical summary for the third quarter of this year released yesterday by the general. Directorate of Administration and Public Employment (DGAEP).
This slowdown has been fundamental since the beginning of the year. Government employment grew at an annualized rate of 2.2% in the first quarter, then fell to 1.5% in June and now to 1.3% in September. You have to go back four years to June 2018 to find such a low value. At that time, the number of jobs in the state had grown at an annual rate of 1.1%.
In September, according to the statistical document, the public administration had 9,435 more employees, an increase mainly due to job growth of 0.9% in the central administration, which corresponds to 4,728 more civil servants. This increase was mainly seen in the Organic Units of Education and Research, which employ more than 2,360 employees, in the Public Business Entities (EPE) of the SNS, which gained more than 1,951 employees, and in the institutions for primary and secondary education and training, representing an increase of 1585 jobs.
Of the careers that contributed most to the year-over-year increase in central government employment, emphasis should be placed on teaching polytechnic higher education and university education, which resulted in an increase of 2085 jobs in total in the security sector forces, employing more than 960 workers, in the careers of senior technician (more 811 workers), nurse (more 791), doctor (more 706) and operations assistant (more 696), according to the same DGAEP -report.
In the chain comparison, government employment was down 1% from the previous quarter, which had reached a record 741,698 civil servants. That is 7927 fewer civil servants. This decrease is mainly due to “the fall in employment in the central administration”, which lost 8,988 jobs, according to the statistical overview, which corresponds to a change of minus 1.6%.
Change of school year explains the decrease in the number of teachers. Reductions in ranks and sergeants cause a drop of 755 posts in the National Defense area.
The fall in the number of jobs occurred mainly in the government areas of Education, Science, Technology and Higher Education, where a total of 7,783 jobs were lost. This decline is related to seasonal issues typical of the change of school year, such as “placement processes for teachers in higher education, elementary and secondary education, as well as senior technicians for curriculum enrichment activities in elementary and secondary education. High school, still running at the end of the third quarter,” said the Directorate-General for Public Administration and Employment.
The National Defense sector also contributed to the decrease in the number of jobs compared to the previous quarter. The Directorate General of Administration and Public Employment explains that in this government area “the reduction of 755 jobs is related to the decrease in employment in the armed forces, especially of soldiers and sergeants”.
Regarding the evolution of payroll: “in July 2022, the value of the monthly average basic salary of full-time employees in the general administration sector amounted to EUR 1559.4, which corresponds to an overall average variation of more than 0.1% compared with the 1558.5 euros registered in April 2022, and an increase of 1.6% compared to the average base salary of 1540 euros in July last year. This increase is due to the “combined effect of the entry and exit of employees with different remuneration levels, the update of the Guaranteed Minimum Monthly Compensation Value and the value of the compensation base up to 705 euros”, the same document states.
The average monthly profit of the government for July 2022 is estimated at 1825 euros, which corresponds to an increase of 0.5% compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 1.2% year-on-year. “The year-over-year variation is due to the increase in average monthly base pay and the overall decrease in the importance of other wage components, such as subsidies and overtime or overtime payments,” the DGAEP Statistical Summary clarifies.
Salomé Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
