Employment rose by 3.3%, which was the highest annual growth since Portugal’s participation in the euro, especially in the youngest and oldest age groups. The public accounts have been showing fairly positive developments, in line with the consolidation targets agreed at European level.
In terms of the external accounts, the current and capital account surplus was 1.4% of GDP in 2017, similar to the surplus recorded since 2014. In parallel, a set of policies designed to eliminate some measures applied under the adjustment programme were put in place from 2016.