Unemployment rate rises to new record

Lisbon: Portugal's jobless rate rose to a new euro-era record in the three months through March as the country's economy contracted for a sixth quarter. The unemployment rate increased to 14.9 per cent in the first quarter, the highest since at least 1998, from 14 per cent in the fourth quarter and 12.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2011, the Lisbon-based National Statistics Institute said yesterday.

The number of unemployed workers from industries including manufacturing, construction and energy rose 5.3 per cent in the first quarter, while the increase in services was 5.9 per cent.

As the country's borrowing costs surged, Portugal followed Greece and Ireland in requiring a bailout last year.