“The PS parliamentary group sees these data with great pleasure and optimism, because not only is there a drop of 1.3 [points] in the unemployment rate to 8.8 [percent], but it also translates, if we compare it with the same period of 2016, [into] a reduction of two points," deputy Pedro Delgado Alves told Lusa. "It's the lowest since the first quarter of 2009."

In addition, he added, "it is also accompanied by an increase in net job creation... the largest in the last 19 years, almost double that of the euro zone and of the European Union as a whole."

The PS deputy was referring to figures released earlier by the National Statistics Institute (INE) that also showed that 461,400 people were without jobs in the quarter, down 62,500 or 11.9% on the previous quarter, “continuing the quarterly reductions observed since the second quarter of 2016”. Against the second quarter of 2016, the latest figure was down 17.5%.

However, the INE also reported that an estimated 903,300 people were underemployed in the second quarter, or "practically twice the unemployed population", at 16.6%.

It stressed that the headline jobless figure does not give a full picture of the current state of the jobs market, and said that for this reason it would now be publishing a supplementary indicator - for underemployment - that includes the unemployed but also part-time workers who would like to work more hours, inactive workers who are looking for work but not currently available, and inactive workers who are available but not looking for work.

Total underemployment fell by 82,800 in the quarter and by 143,400 on the year, the INE said.