In Portugal, workers who change companies have registered, in recent years, higher salary increases than those who remain with the same employer. Between 2022 and 2024, those who changed companies saw their remuneration increase by about 10% to 11% per year, while workers who remained in the same workplace registered increases between 6% and 8%.
This difference does not mean that changing jobs, by itself, causes a salary increase. Those who change companies may have different characteristics from those who stay, and the decision to change is frequently associated with the existence of a more attractive offer. Nevertheless, the data shows how labor mobility can function as an important mechanism for salary progression.
The major exception occurred between 2011 and 2013, during the public debt crisis and the Troika intervention. During that period, those who changed companies had worse salary evolution than those who remained, given that the economy in sharp contraction, high unemployment and few available opportunities substantially reduced the bargaining power of workers.
In a dynamic labor market, workers have more opportunities to seek companies that better value their skills, and greater ease of change increases competition among employers for talent, pressuring companies to offer more competitive remuneration and conditions.
