The labor force continues to increase in Chile with respect to the total number of employed people.
The unemployment figure reported this Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reflects this reality.
The unemployment rate during the quarter between November 2023 and January 2024 was 8.4%, which shows an increase of 0.4 percentage points in 12 months.
People participating in the labor force showed an increase of 3.4%, but those employed only increased by 2.9%.
In this way, the year begins with a show of continuity regarding the labor reality experienced by the South American country in 2023.
During the quarter analyzed, unemployed people increased 8.5%, influenced by those who were unemployed (7.7%) and those looking for work for the first time (15.8%).
Compared to the same period of the previous year, the participation and occupancy rates stood at 62.1%, with a growth of 1.5 and 1.1 percentage points respectively.
The increase of 2.9% in employed people was greater in women, with 4.4%, than in men, who showed an increase of 1.8%.
The annual increases occurred in all age groups, led by the segments between 35-44 years old, with 4.2% and between 45-54 years old, with 3.3%.
In both women and men, the most notable increase was observed in the 35-44 age group, reaching 5.9% and 2.8%, in each case.
The sectors that contributed most to the increase in employment were commerce (6.5%), health activities (9.7%) and manufacturing industry (4.4%).
The sectors that have not yet managed to rebound are construction, with a 4.6% drop in its occupancy rate, real estate activities with a decrease of 18.5% and professional activities with a reduction of 4.8%.
Formal salaried people showed an increase of 2.8% in the period, while self-employed workers increased 5.6%.
In any case, informality continued to rise.
The informal employment rate stood at 27.6%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points in one year, and informally employed people increased by 4%, mostly concentrated in women (7.5%) than in men (1 ,2%).
Meanwhile, the population outside the labor force decreased 2.9% in 12 months, influenced by the habitually inactive people, who according to the latest record number just over six million.
In one year, the potential labor force, known as potentially active inactive people, rose 6.1%, driven mainly by women.
In this category are those people who, for the most part, are not looking for a job, but who are available to enter the labor market if expectations for finding an occupation improve.
People wait in line to complete the unemployment insurance procedures in Santiago, Chile, in June 2020. Marcelo Hernandez (Getty Images)
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