Chilean president concerned over 7.1 pct unemployment rate

Chile's President Michelle Bachelet has expressed concern about the 7.1 percent unemployment figure released for the rolling May-June quarter, which had surpassed market expectations.

"I can't begin without saying that we don't like the unemployment figures...because good employment, like we have previously heard, is the basis for opportunities for women but also for men," said Bachelet, quoted by local media Friday.

The president made the remarks Thursday during a seminar entitled "Women in the world of work: a contribution to Chile," where she insisted that a "good job is the basis for opportunities."

The National Statistics Institute (INE) released the unemployment data, the highest figure since the Sept.-Nov. quarter in 2011 when the unemployment rate also reached 7.1 percent.

The Chilean leader said for this reason, she will monitor "the indicator very closely" and she will also act on them.

Bachelet added that the government is currently putting emphasis on public investment and working with the private sector in multiple areas "so that we can progress much stronger in a public-private partnership."

The increase in unemployment comes at a time when the Chilean economy has slowed down, a product of low copper prices and the fall in international demand for this metal.

BCI Estudios, from Chile's credit and investment bank BCI, ratified the unemployment rate and noticed a more pronounced deterioration in the unemployment indicators "in a scenario where the creation of job positions keeps growing at rates slightly above 1 percent annually."

BCI Estudios also predicted that "the unemployment rate would continue to increase towards levels above 7.5 percent in the remainder of the year."

Chile's Manufacturers' Association predicted that "the employment figures will continue to deteriorate and the consumer expectations in July show no return to dynamism, while those of the entrepreneurs will remain pessimistic for over two years."

Scotiabank said "the concerning part of the figures involves the type of employment. The strong expansion in freelance employment is accentuated at (7.6 percent) as well as the low growth-rate in the number of employees (0.2 percent)."

The international banking entity maintained its projected average unemployment rate of 6.6 percent for the year, which will increase to 7.4 percent in 2017.

"It is expected that the last quarter of this year and the first quarter of the next will help to moderate the increases in unemployment, which are expected from the current economic deterioration," said Scotiabank. Endite