Chile’s unemployment rate reached 8.0% during the July-September rolling quarter, according to the National Employment Survey (ENE) prepared by the Chilean National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The figure means a decrease of 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period of 2021.
However, the INE shows that “it does not present a significant statistical variation, as a result of the increase in the labor force (5.5%), lower than that presented by employed persons (6.0%)”.
The unemployed rose by 1.0%, registering their first annual expansion, after steady declines since the start of 2021, “hit by increases in both those who were unemployed (0.7%), as well as among those who are looking for work for the first time (4.4%).
Participation and employment rates were 59.7% and 54.9%, increasing by 2.6 pp. in both cases. On the other hand, the population outside the labor force decreased by 5.1%.
Chile is undergoing an economic adjustment as the impact of stimulus measures diminishes after a record 11.7% GDP expansion in 2021.
Trading activity in September fell by 12.3% year-on-year, due to lower dynamism in retail activity, which fell by 14.3% in twelve months. Meanwhile, manufacturing output recorded a -3.4%.
Chile’s economy may enter recession.
The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) estimates that the Chilean economy will grow by 2.2% per year in 2022 and will contract by 0.9% per year in 2023.
Monetary policymakers raised the interest rate to 11.25% in October and vowed to maintain that level for as long as necessary.
The Central Bank is also expected to release September activity data next week.
