Economy

Over two thousand jobs in IT have been created in Porto since the beginning of the year

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Filipa Brito

In only six months, companies in the areas of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) installed in Porto have already created 2.122 new jobs. This number corresponds only to the 35 companies with investment projects in the city, completed or in progress, monitored by InvestPorto or projects announced publicly.

As it does not reflect the entire universe of companies that have set up in the city, the number of qualified jobs created will, therefore, be higher. In the last year and a half, it is estimated that more ICT jobs will have been created than in the previous three years (2017-2020).

According to the most recent data from Instituto Nacional de Estatística, in the municipality of Porto there were 1.282 establishments and 12.743 jobs in the ICT area at the end of 2020. Between 2017 and 2020, there was a net creation of 205 new establishments and 4.335 jobs in this area, which corresponds to an increase of +19% and +52% respectively.

In this period, ICT were the sector that created more jobs in Porto, representing 8% of people working for companies in the municipality (more than double the national average, showing a growing degree of specialization of the municipality’s economy in this area.

Already in 2021 and in the first half of 2022, there were 48 companies with investment projects in Porto, completed or in process, corresponding to a 4.244 new jobs.

The increase in the number of the companies installed in Porto reflects the priority that the Municipality gives to the economic dynamism and, through InvestPorto, to job creation by attracting national and foreign companies and investors to the city.

Since its creation, in 2015, the municipal structure dedicated to promoting the business environment and promoting investment in the city, has monitored more than 430 investment projects, and contributed to the capture of more than 725 million euros in investment that generated the creation of more than 14.400 new jobs in Porto.

Following these results, the Porto. Leading Investors program was recently created, which aims to strengthen relations with investors and 17 highly competitive companies that significantly contribute to the city’s economic development, in areas like ICT, service centres, health and life sciences, cultural and creative industries and mobility, energy and environment.

In the last five years, these companies have created more than six thousand jobs in Porto and export an average of 85% of their production, adding more than 375 million euros to the national GDP every year.

Talent retention passes through attractive housing policy

Accompanying this strategy of attracting talent, the Municipality of Porto has several measures to encourage housing that may contribute to the settlement of these professionals in the city. Examples are the Porto com Sentido program, which boosts the offer of affordable housing rentals, or large-scale affordable housing, such as the Monte Pedral project, Monte da Bela, or the public housing and urban regeneration project in Lordelo do Ouro.