Summary Box: Portugal's jobless rate hits record

TOUGH TIMES: Portugal's jobless rate jumped to 14 percent at the end of last year, the highest level since authorities began compiling comprehensive national registers in 1950.

THE BACKGROUND: Portugal last year followed other eurozone countries Greece and Ireland in taking a bailout. The $101.4 billion loan sought to avert looming bankruptcy after a decade of slender growth. Austerity measures have worsened the downturn.

THE OUTLOOK: Experts predict the unemployment rate will rise further. The Portuguese economy went into a double-dip recession last year. The government forecasts a further contraction of 3 percent this year.