At the same time, as we stressed previously in the paper,
one of the characteristics of the Portuguese welfare state, related namely to the outsider-
insider divisions on the provision of welfare, has impacts on the labour market itself
and on the quality of jobs undertaken, most of all, by young people, long-term unemployed
(LTU) and women. By saying this, we emphasize that the general trend towards the
flexibilization and diversification of forms of employment, with a substantial increase in
fixed-term contracts and part-time employment has particularly negative effects on the
Portuguese labour market and on these social groups in a more deep and persistent way.