Rita Branco is a nurse. In Lisbon, she distributes leaflets for the medical union - in front of the largest hospital in the country. The young woman is trying to win supporters for their fight. "Everything is getting more expensive - basic products, the cost of living in general, only salaries are not increasing", she tells DW.
Young people are looking for better salaries abroad
Carolina Azevedo is also not satisfied with the conditions in the medical industry. She graduated in medicine and should start work any moment. But she is disappointed with the pay. "In the first year, the basic salary is 1,700 euros gross, of which about half will go to rent. "I'm going to stay in Portugal for a year to save some money and learn German," says the young doctor.
She needs German to apply for a job in Switzerland. During her studies, Carolina did an internship and saw how things are in other countries. "My brother works in Switzerland and I get first-hand information. That calms me down."
This is a heavy blow for her family: two of her three children have chosen to work abroad. "We tried to give them the opportunity to be closer to us, but in this country it turns out that this is not possible. Young people are trying to cope with this life in the best way possible for them," says Alcinda Azevedo, Carolina's mother.
In addition to the flight of young and well-educated people, Portugal also has other problems: for example, an acute shortage of affordable housing. That is why the Portuguese government will now try to keep young people in the country with tax breaks.
"For about 10 years, we have had a fundamental demographic problem. Compared to neighboring countries, we are also lagging behind in terms of competitiveness, productivity and wage levels. The tax breaks currently planned could cover up to 400,000 young people," State Secretary Claudia Duarte told DW.
Chances in Portugal - limited?
The target group also includes the young economist José Alberto Ferreira, who is currently working in Italy. He is adamant that the new measures of the Portuguese government will not convince him to return to the country. "It's not just about the salaries, but also that the job and career opportunities in Portugal are not as numerous and of such high quality as in other countries", he assures.
At the same time, Lisbon is considered a startup hub. International projects are settling there - such as the biotechnology company MicroHarvest, which in addition to Hamburg has a branch in Portugal. "I think that with our presence in Lisbon we show that there are good job opportunities in the field of innovation here too", Micro Harvest co-founder Lucia Cruz told DW.
However, she admits that the tax burden in the country has increased so much that even a motivated entrepreneur like her admits that in the long run it is difficult.
Tiago Lucas is 27 years old, works for a consulting company and lives in a trendy neighborhood of Lisbon. But it seems that this is not enough for the young man who has decided to move to Denmark. "There is a much better work-life balance there. I'm not just talking about the salary, but also about the fact that people are more polite there and public services, such as transport, are of better quality," he says.
Work-life balance is also an important criterion for many other Portuguese immigrants. DW spoke to four engineers from Portugal who work in Sweden and they said: "That was certainly one of the most important factors in moving here. Work-life balance is really something that we value and which is very different from what we see in Portugal," says one of them.
The conclusion that follows: Portugal attracts millions of tourists, but it is pushing away its own young people. And tax breaks alone will not be able to keep them.
Author: Markus Bönisch