April 2020 – definitive estimates:
• The employed population has changed by -1.3% from the previous month, by -2.2% from three months before and by -1.8% from the same month of 2019.
• The unemployment rate (concept of the International Labour Organization, ILO) stood at 6.3%, 0.1 percentage points (pp) more than in the previous month, 0.5 pp less than three months before and 0.3 pp less than in the same month of the previous year.
• The labour underutilisation rate was estimated at 13.4%, up 1.0 pp from the previous month, up 0.9 pp from three months before and up 0.4 pp from the same month of 2019.
May 2020 – provisional estimates:
• The employed population has changed by -2.2% from the previous month and by -4.0% both from three months before and from the same month of 2019.
• The unemployment rate (ILO concept) stood at 5.5%, down 0.8 pp from the previous month, down 0.9 pp from three months before and down 1.1 pp from the same month of the previous year.
• The labour underutilisation rate was estimated at 14.2%, 0.8 pp more than in the previous month, 1.8 pp more than three months before and 1.2 pp more than in the same month of 2019.

The information in this Press Release is influenced by the current situation determined by the pandemic COVID-19, either by the natural disturbance associated with the impact of the pandemic in obtaining primary information or by the behavioural changes resulting from the measures adopted to safeguard public health (for more, see page 7). For these reasons, Statistics Portugal advices special care in the analysis of the provisional estimates.
Despite the circumstances, Statistics Portugal will try to maintain the statistical production and release calendar, although some adjustments might occur. We reinforce our call for better collaboration by citizens, private and public entities in answering to Statistics Portugal's requests. The quality of official statistics, particularly its ability to identify the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, depends crucially on this collaboration that Statistics Portugal is grateful for in advance.