Staff and service costs put pressure on Azores social care

About 40% of the 99 private non-profit social care institutions examined in an Azores study recorded net losses in each of 2024 and 2025. The report links financial pressure to rising expenses and identifies cash-flow difficulties that worsened in the latter year.

Prepared by Norma/Açores and reviewed by Açoriano Oriental, the study considered responses from 99 of the 111 participating institutions. It examined both their overall accounts and the social care services covered by the study. On the latter basis, the proportion of institutions recording losses was 52.2% in 2024 and 51.6% in 2025.

Between 2024 and 2025, spending on external supplies and services rose by an average of about 15.4%, reflecting factors including food and fuel prices. Staff costs increased by an average of 10.7%, while subsidies from the Azores Social Security Institute, municipalities and other government bodies rose by 8%.

The report links higher staffing costs to wage updates and difficulties retaining workers. Although 98.8% of the institutions that submitted balance sheets had positive equity or accumulated funds, the study identified cash-flow problems that made it difficult to pay regular expenses on time.

The study was presented publicly on 3 November. According to RTP Açores, the regional secretary for health and social security expressed hope that its conclusions would influence state funding as early as 2027. The regional government also provided the report in response to a request from the Socialist Party's parliamentary group.

The financial stability of these organisations matters to children, older people and others who use their services, as well as their families and the people who work in the sector. The findings give the region a basis for discussing the relationship between the cost of services and the public support needed across the islands.