Around 1,700 applications were approved in four years of the Interior Mais Employment program, a measure with incentives for population mobility to the interior that ended on December 31.
According to data requested by Lusa from the Ministry of Territorial Cohesion (MCT), since its inception in 2020 and until December 17, 2023, the Interior Employment Plus measure has received 3,629 applications, of which it has approved 1,698 (46.7%).
The approval of the applications meant that 3,032 people, including the beneficiaries’ families, moved to inland areas, and the support awarded totaled 6,086,905.74 euros.
When the measure was launched, the government estimated that “direct financial support of up to 4,827 euros” would be given to those moving from the coast to the interior of Portugal to work.
By region, 673 applications were approved for the Center of the country, involving 2.3 million euros (ME), 496 for the Alentejo (1.8 ME), 389 for the North (1.3 ME), 119 for Lisbon and the Tagus Valley (417 thousand euros) and 21 for the Algarve (81 thousand euros).
The district of Castelo Branco was the destination with the most approved applications (428 applications, moving 810 people to this district), with an approved value of 1.5 ME (25.21% of the total approved).
For Évora there were 252 candidates, Guarda and Portalegre received 125 each, Vila Real 124, Viseu 121, Bragança 103, Beja 88, Coimbra 84, Santarém 70, Braga 58, Viana do Castelo 42, Setúbal 31, Faro 21, Leiria 16, Aveiro seven and the district of Porto three.
The MCT data shows that 593 successful candidates were under 30, 704 were between 30 and 40, 296 were between 41 and 50 and 105 were over 50.
In terms of qualification level, 165 had less than the 12th grade and 643 had at least the 12th grade.
Another 68 candidates had completed a bachelor’s degree, 396 a bachelor’s degree, 402 a master’s degree and 24 a doctorate.
The majority, 1,236 successful candidates, were employed.
Another 358 went on to create their own jobs, 50 started a business and 54 were self-employed.
Lisbon was the district of origin of the most candidates to work in the interior: 115 successful candidates left Lisbon for Castelo Branco, 82 went to Évora, 48 to Portalegre and 40 to Guarda.
From the Oporto district, the destination of the successful Interior Mais Employment candidates was mainly Vila Real (51 successful candidates), Castelo Branco (42), Bragança (35), Viseu (27) and Évora (20).
The candidates’ professional projects were in areas related to human health (133), computer programming (92), consultancy, public administration, defence and social security (84), retail trade (77), social support activities with accommodation (76), catering and similar (65), activities of associative organizations (61), agriculture and livestock (59) and accommodation (55).
Emprego Interior Mais was approved in February 2020 (it accepted applications backdated to January 1) as one of the measures of the “Trabalhar no Interior” program and initially had a deadline of the end of 2021, but was extended until December 31, 2023.
At the time of the presentation, the government estimated that the set of measures launched to enhance and attract people to the interior should create 2,810 jobs and generate an investment of 648 million euros in these territories.
When it extended the measure, the government also widened the range of potential beneficiaries of the support to emigrants who wanted to return to Portugal and settle in the countryside.
According to data from the MCT, as of mid-October 2023, 1,381 applications had been approved under this Return to the Interior Program, involving 3,297 emigrants and their families, with support amounting to around 6.4 ME so far.
Also according to the MCT, within the scope of measures to settle people in areas considered to be inland, support was granted to create 3,006 jobs with the approval of 1,382 applications under the PT2020, in programs such as +CO3SO Employment (1,140 approved applications), +CO3SO Social Entrepreneurship (125 applications) and RHAQ (117 approved applications).
The amount approved in this context was 176 ME, of which 85.2 ME had been paid by mid-October.
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