The Portuguese exodus

"Spanish crisis already forces 25,000 Portuguese to leave country", headlines Jornal de Notícias. In only four years, more than a third of Portuguese citizens registered with their Iberian neighbour’s social security have lost their jobs. At the end of 2010, 51,831 Portuguese citizens were working in Spain, against 58,870 in 2009 and 77,396 in 2007. Since the crisis began in 2008, the construction sector which employs many Portuguese workers, has been most affected. As a result Spain’s Portuguese workforce is now fourth after EU members Romania (290,000), Italy (61,000) and Bulgaria (54,000). The Lisbon daily adds that Spain’s high unemployment rate - 19,8% in 2010, more than four million people – has also made the country less attractive.