Unemployment reaches 8.4% for April-June trimester

SANTIAGO.- According to an announcement made by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), unemployment has grown to 8.4% for the April-June trimester.

The figure falls above market estimates, which had predicted a rate of 8.2%.

This new information indicates that the unemployment rate has increased 1.5 percent over the last 12 months and 0.4 percent in relation to the previous trimester.

The jump in the unemployment rate over the last 12 months can be attributed to a
more significant expansion in the labor force (4.6%) than in the employment rate (2.9%).

At the same time, there has also been an increase in the number of people who are considered to be unemployed and a notable decrease in the number of people that are considered outside of the labor force.

Over the last 12 months, the rate of labor participation has grown from 54.5% to 56.0%, while the employment rate for the same period increased from 50.7% to 51.3%.  The significant impact observed on global figures is the result of the dynamism of incorporating women in the labor market in mid-2007.