The period initiated in 2002 coincided with the slowdown
of economic activity and with a new phase in fiscal policy whose main aim was to
comply with the Stability and Growth Pact’ (SGP) criteria (e.g. restructuring public
administration, freezing public service recruitment, non-renewal of fixed-term contracts
and possible greater mobility for civil servants), and in particular with budgetary balance (Cadeiras 2003). Since 2006, there has been a substantial increase in the
unemployment rate, particularly since 2008, when the economic and financial international
situation started to falter significantly.