Portugal's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.1% in the third quarter compared to the preceding three months, and was only slightly above 6.0% registered a year earlier, the National Statistics Institute said on Wednesday.

However, the youth unemployment rate - encompassing those between the ages of 16 and 24 - rose to 20.3% from 17.1% in the previous quarter.

The total number of those unemployed rose 0.5% to 326,100 people from the previous three months, but the total workforce also increased by 0.5% to 5.0 million people. (Reporting by Maria Luiza Amaral)