Economic growth 4.5%+ in 2021
The government is to review its growth prospects upwards to 4.5% or above for the rest of 2021 and 2022.
The minister of Finance, João Leão told the Lusa news agency “We are likely to review our economic growth prospects for this and next year upwards.
“We think that the (Portuguese) economy will grow beyond the 4% initially expected to above 4.5% GDP which is a fairly significant growth,” said the minister who pointed to better employment and lower unemployment figures than had been expected when it presented the Stability Programme.
João Leão said that an overall impact of all of these factors on public accounts was still being made and added that while expenses from dealing with the pandemic were more than initially budgeted for on the one hand, on the other economic recovery and recovery in the labour market (and increased revenues associated with IRS and Social Security) have also gone better than expected.
The more positive prospects for the development of the Portuguese economy, employment, and “responsible and sustainable budgetary management” had helped towards the decision by Moody’s to raise Portugal’s rating.