Translated from the original Spanish article. Read in Spanish
News published on October 29, 2026. The situation may have changed since then.
Unemployment in Chile rose to 9.8% in the July to September 2026 quarter. The National Statistics Institute (INE) reported it on October 29.
That is 1.3 points higher than a year ago and the highest figure since May 2021.
More than a million without work
There are now 1,007,976 unemployed people. It is the first time the figure has passed one million since 2020, according to *Diario Financiero*.
In one year, 102,875 jobs were lost. The number of people in work fell by 1.1%.
The number of people looking for work for the first time also rose by 24.7%.
Chile's unemployment rate has been above 8% for 45 months in a row, according to Emol.
Who is hit hardest
Unemployment among women reached 10.5%, and among men, 9.3%.
The Metropolitan Region, home to Santiago, stood at 10.4%, above the national average.
The sectors losing jobs
The biggest cuts were in information and communications (−20.8% of workers), finance and insurance (−14.1%) and manufacturing (−8.1%).
Informal work edged up to 26.4% of workers.
President José Antonio Kast spoke about jobs the same day at the Congress of the Regions, citing his government's plans such as Modo Empleo and Chile Despega.
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Sources (in Spanish)
- Cifras oficiales: INE Chile (29 de octubre de 2026).
- Máximo desde 2021, empleos perdidos y racha sobre el 8 %: Emol (29 de octubre de 2026).
- Más de un millón por primera vez desde 2020: Diario Financiero (29 de octubre de 2026).
- Número de desocupados: T13 (29 de octubre de 2026).
- Kast y sus planes de empleo: BioBioChile (29 de octubre de 2026).
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