Young people, unemployed people or people in professional transition and foreigners are among the workers who most compete for temporary job vacancies to reinforce teams at the ‘peak’ of activity at Christmas, according to recruiters interviewed by Lusa.
O Increased consumption by families during the usual Christmas season leads companies to use temporary workers to reinforce teams given the ‘peak’ of activity in various sectors, ranging from retail, logistics, storage and transport, to restaurants and hotels.
Recruitment professionals who spoke to Lusa point out that the profiles of those applying for these jobs are increasingly diverse, ranging from young people looking for their first job, to professionals in professional transition and even foreigners who see “these opportunities as a way of integrating into the Portuguese market”.
“In these roles, more than half of our workers are foreigners, maintaining the prerogative that Portugal needs this migratory flow to make the economy work”says Pedro Empis, operational director of talent solutions at the company Randstad, also referring to the young people who “intend to enter the market or supplement their budget”, as well as “people in a situation of unemployment or even people who have a first job and are looking to secure some more income at this time”.
“There are also professionals who combine different activities, for example, those who maintain a regular ‘part-time’ and increase their availability during the Christmas season”, adds António Carvalho, temp & perm business director at Gi Group, noting that foreigners “see these opportunities as a form of integration into the job market”.
In turn, Daniela Lourenço, brand leader at Manpower, points out that the candidate profiles are “increasingly diverse”, however, among the main candidates, in addition to those already mentioned, include “people over 45 or 50 years old, with a lot of experience, who value the possibility of remaining active with schedules adjusted to their realities”. iU Talent also points out that the “profile is diverse, multigenerational and multicultural”, highlighting “young students looking for extra income and acquiring professional experience”, “people in career transition or who want to supplement their family income”, as well as “foreign professionals who see these opportunities as a way of integrating into the Portuguese market”.
Difficulties in hiring operational profiles
Although, as a general rule, there is an increase in demand from companies for temporary work solutions, some sectors admit difficulties in finding candidates for “technical and operational” roles.
“The difficulties in hiring end up extending to all areas, but are particularly notable in technical and operational functions, namely in specialized logistics, drivers with specific licensesqualified warehouse operators and production technicians”, says Daniela Lourenço, brand leader at Manpower. In the case of hotels and restaurants, “fluency in foreign languages, especially English, is a requirement that continues to limit the number of available candidates”, he adds.
The position is shared by António Carvalho, temp & perm business director at Gi Group, who indicates that “the biggest challenge” concerns the “areas of logistics, transport and production, where demand is very high and the availability of candidates is low”.
In turn, an official source from iU Talent refers to “waiters, cooks, receptionists and warehouse operators” and highlights that the fact that Portugal is close to full employment, “with historically low unemployment levels”, and “two structural factors” are the main obstacles to hiring these professionals. Among the “structural factors” is, on the one hand, “the departure of young people abroad” and, on the other, “the revaluation of some sectors, such as technology and administration, which end up absorbing professionals with versatile profiles who previously worked in retail or hospitality”, he explained.
“The result is a felt shortage, especially in jobs that require physical presence, shift schedules or peaks of intensity, typical of Christmas”, he adds.
In turn, Pedro Empis highlights that “areas that are very people-based” are those in which it is most difficult to hire and especially “when the locations and times do not meet what the candidates are looking for”.
Despite these difficulties, with the exception of iU Talent, the remaining recruiters interviewed by Lusa indicate that the Demand has increased, even though companies are cautious in hiring.
“The demand for temporary work solutions has been growing”, notes Gi Group, stating that it believes that “this scenario is being influenced by greater caution on the part of companies in the face of economic instability”.
“We also feel that companies are anticipating recruitment processes and investing in larger teams to respond to growing demand”, he adds.
Manpower denotes “greater prudence on the part of companies, a reflection of the economic situation that has been felt throughout 2025”, indicating that this year requests to reinforce teams at Christmas are “arriving later than usual”.
“Right now, we have more companies than usual in October sharing their recruitment perspectives with us, although without implementing processes. It can be seen that companies are deciding more prudently, adjusting volumes depending on orders and real demand”, explains Daniela Lourenço.
And while Randstad points to an increase in demand this year, “particularly in retail, food industry and logistics”, and whose “growth varies between 10% and 30%”, iU Talent points to an opposite scenario, highlighting that the downward trend “is widespread” and affects “the three sectors that are most looking for team reinforcement at this time”: hospitality, with a drop of 9.9%; customer service, with a decrease of 8.1%, and logistics and distribution, with a decrease of 0.7%.
To overcome recruitment difficulties and attract candidates, companies They ‘wave’ with incentives such as performance bonuses, meal and transport subsidies or the possibility of future integration.
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