Chile Jobless Rate Edges Higher

2026-09-30 12:34 By Isabela Couto 1 min. read

Chile’s unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in the June-August 2026 quarter from 9.5% in the previous period and slightly above forecasts of 9.5%.

The number of unemployed people increased 13% year-on-year, driven by a 12.1% rise in people who had previously held jobs and a 23.2% increase in first-time job seekers.

Total employment declined 0.9%.

By economic sector, employment fell most in manufacturing (-7.6%), information and communications (-16.8%) and commerce (-1.1%).

The informal employment rate reached 26.3%.

Among women, unemployment rose to 10.3%, up 1.0 percentage point, as the labor force increased 1.3%, outpacing the 0.2% rise in employment.

Among men, unemployment reached 9.1%, up 1.1 percentage points, as the labor force declined 0.5%, less than the 1.7% drop in employment.

In the Metropolitan Region, unemployment reached 9.8%.

The seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate was 9.4%.



News Stream
Chile Jobless Rate Edges Higher
Chile’s unemployment rate rose to 9.6% in the June-August 2026 quarter from 9.5% in the previous period and slightly above forecasts of 9.5%. The number of unemployed people increased 13% year-on-year, driven by a 12.1% rise in people who had previously held jobs and a 23.2% increase in first-time job seekers. Total employment declined 0.9%. By economic sector, employment fell most in manufacturing (-7.6%), information and communications (-16.8%) and commerce (-1.1%). The informal employment rate reached 26.3%. Among women, unemployment rose to 10.3%, up 1.0 percentage point, as the labor force increased 1.3%, outpacing the 0.2% rise in employment. Among men, unemployment reached 9.1%, up 1.1 percentage points, as the labor force declined 0.5%, less than the 1.7% drop in employment. In the Metropolitan Region, unemployment reached 9.8%. The seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate was 9.4%.
2026-09-30
Chile Unemployment Rate Edges Higher
Chile’s unemployment rate rose to 9.5% in the May-July 2026 rolling quarter, slighly up from 9.4% in the previous period. The number of unemployed people increased 10.4%, driven by both those who had previously worked and first-time jobseekers. The participation and employment rates declined to 61.7% and 55.9%, respectively. Unemployment reached 10.3% among women, up 0.6 percentage points, and 8.9% among men, up 1 percentage point. The employment decline was driven by information and communications (-14.6%), education (-3.3%), and manufacturing (-2.7%). Meanwhile, the informal employment rate rose 0.5 percentage points to 26.5%.
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Chile Jobless Rate Steady at 2021-Highs
Chile's unemployment rate stood at 9.4% in the April-June 2026 period, unchanged from the previous rolling quarter and in line with market expectations. The reading remained at its highest level since the quarter ending June 2021. The labor force increased 1.5% year-on-year, while the labor force participation rate edged down to 62.3% from 62.4%, as the number of unemployed eased slightly to 980 thousand. Meanwhile, employment rose 0.9% from a year earlier to 9.403 million, although the employment rate edged down to 56.4% from 56.5% in the previous period. Job creation was primarily driven by gains in transportation (6.8%), administrative and support service activities (12.9%), and human health activities (5.1%).
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