Portugal’s technology sector is adding jobs fast and paying some of the country’s highest salaries. Employment in information and communication rose by 27,600 year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026, while annual salaries for the IT roles surveyed range from €40,000 to €55,000, according to Randstad’s 2026/2027 Salary Trends Study.
According to the report, which cross-references Randstad’s recruitment database with official statistics from INE and Eurostat, the number of people employed in the information and communication sector in the second quarter of 2026 stood at 237,200, representing around 4.4% of the total workforce in Portugal.
Year-on-year, there was an increase of 27,600 jobs (+13.2%). According to Randstad, the five areas most in demand by companies in this sector are cloud and security, data analytics, BI and AI, software development, business applications (CRM/ERP) and IT management and strategy.
Close behind is the life sciences and healthcare sector, which, according to data from INE’s Employment Survey for the second quarter of 2026, cited in a Randstad press release, employs 567,700 people in human health and social care, representing around 10.5% of the total workforce in Portugal.
Year-on-year, there was an increase of 43,200 jobs (+8.2%), “consolidating healthcare as one of the biggest drivers of skilled job creation in the country”, Randstad said in the same press release.
In pharmaceuticals and research, the average gross annual salary ranges from €35,000 to €60,000, according to Randstad’s survey, “with strong demand for sales representatives, quality assurance roles, regulatory affairs, market access and medical affairs”.
In healthcare, the average stands at between €30,000 and €46,000 gross per annum, with organisations focusing on recruiting nurses, doctors, multi-therapy technicians, pharmacy technicians and pharmacists.
Another sector emerging as a driving force for change in the Portuguese market, according to Randstad, is engineering and industry, “a highly skilled sector characterised by a high level of job stability in the Portuguese market”.
According to data from INE for the second quarter of 2026, cited by the Dutch human resources firm, the workforce in the industrial sector (which includes extractive industries, manufacturing, electricity, gas, water and construction) stood at 1,333,700 people, representing around 24.7% of the total workforce in Portugal.
Year-on-year, there was an increase of 43,000 jobs (+3.3%). With average salaries estimated by Randstad at between €33,500 and €49,500 gross per annum, “companies are actively seeking site managers, automation and robotics engineers, product development engineers, production supervisors and supply chain or logistics technicians.”
In banking and insurance, where average salaries range from €35,000 to €50,000 gross per annum, the workforce stood at 118,700 people in the second quarter of 2026, representing around 2.2% of the total workforce in Portugal.
Year-on-year, there was an increase of 8,400 jobs (+7.6%), which, according to Randstad, reflects “an ongoing restructuring of branches and gains in operational efficiency through digitalisation in traditional banking”. “With an ever-increasing focus on risk and compliance, the most in-demand roles are business manager, compliance officer, corporate finance analyst, underwriter and private banker,” the company said.
As regards marketing and sales, sales roles have average salaries of between €23,000 and €39,500, whilst marketing roles range from €26,000 to €36,500 gross per annum.
“Demand is centred on roles such as CRM specialist, performance marketing manager, customer experience manager, technical sales representative and sales engineer.”
INE does not break down figures for marketing and sales, but according to Eurostat, the number of people employed in marketing totalled 37,200 in the first quarter of 2026 (0.7% of total employment in the country). Compared with the previous quarter, there was a decrease of 13.3% (a loss of 5,700 jobs); however, year-on-year there was an increase of 1,400 people (+3.9%).
Finally, in the broad sector of finance, HR and legal services, according to data from INE, the number of people employed stood at 488,100, representing around 9% of the national total.
Year-on-year, there was an increase of 6,800 jobs (+1.4%). With an average gross annual salary ranging from €24,000 to €33,500, this sector “leads the demand for controllers, reporting/statutory specialists, chartered accountants, talent specialising in HR analytics and compliance officers”.