According to the INE, the unemployment rate in Ñuble reached 10.2% in March-May 2024, which represents an increase of 1.3 points compared to the same period in 2023 and continues to show an upward trend.
This is the highest rate nationwide, with an average of 8.3%, a decrease of 0.2 points in 12 months.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate in the Province of Diguillín stood at 11.3%, showing a year-on-year increase of 2.2 points.
Weakness of the labor market
The unemployment rate in Ñuble increased because the workforce increased by 0.6% in 12 months, while the number of employed people decreased by 0.8% (1,750 fewer jobs) and the number of unemployed people increased by 15.1%, reaching 24,580.
Unemployment among women fell to 11.7% from 13.2% in March-May 2023, while unemployment among men rose to 9.1%, an increase of 3.3 points in 12 months.
The decrease in employed people was influenced by the 15-34 age group, which contracted by 8.3%.
The decrease in employment was also explained by falls in agriculture (-11.3%), education (-11.1%) and construction (-7.9%). On the other hand, health activities (26.0%) accounted for the main increase.
Negative scenario
Bernardo Vásquez, director of the Ñuble Labor Observatory, explained that unemployment rose in the region, “on the one hand, because there are more people in the region looking for a job, which the labor market has not been able to absorb, and on the other, due to the decrease in the number of employed people in relevant sectors, such as agriculture.”
“In Ñuble, employment is strongly linked to forestry and agricultural activities, especially in spring and summer. This is why variations in employment in these activities strongly affect the regional labour market and, therefore, unemployment is expected to increase,” he said. “In particular, for the March-May quarter, the forestry and agricultural sector accounted for 14.6% of regional employment, being the second, following commerce (16.9%), that generates the most employment,” he said.
The professional, who months ago ruled out that Ñuble would reach double digits, acknowledged yesterday that, despite positive indicators at the national level, higher rates might be observed in the region.
“The country’s economic expectations are positive, as can be seen from the growth in the Imacec, and a more moderate growth is expected for May, which we hope will also be transferred to the regions (…) However, the base scenario of the regional projections made was based on the strengthening of tourism and commercial activities to absorb employment in the region in winter, in addition to the positive economic signals. Additionally, the rise in electricity prices should also have an impact on the labor market.”
According to Vásquez, “while the greatest economic incentives continue to materialize, such as the reduction of the Central Bank’s TPM, added to the fact that the demand for employment by companies derives from production, requiring the regional productive matrix to be strengthened, and that, on the other hand, greater expectations have been generated in people looking for employment, which increases the labor force, it is likely that the labor market will not be able to absorb the greater labor supply in the region in the short term, which might imply, in the future, increases in the unemployment rate.”
Productive matrix
When consulted, Governor Oscar Crisostomo said: “We know that employment in the region has a marked seasonality, given the importance of agriculture, for this reason and as a way to diversify the productive matrix, we have developed different support programs for SMEs through Sercotec, resources destined for entrepreneurs with Corfo instruments and support for the tourism sector.”
The authority stated that, “what one would expect are concrete measures and special plans from the Central Government to reduce unemployment. In a region that, in addition, in recent years has suffered various attacks from nature, which undoubtedly affects the local economy.”
Agricultural development
The director of the Didepro of the Municipality of Chillán, Renato Segura, who had anticipated this increase, indicated that the absence of an agricultural promotion policy in a complex scenario for the sector is translating into a lower demand for labor. “The lower agricultural activity is the main reason why we cannot recover employment and/or improve its quality,” he stressed.
Along these lines, he called on the authorities to adopt innovative measures, “because clearly, current policies have not yielded the expected results; on the contrary, low incomes in the labour market are pushing unemployment up, in a productive environment without major changes that would allow us to get out of this situation. Therefore, I call on the regional governor to dare to do something different; we cannot wait for solutions to come to us from Santiago. We need investments to boost the agro-industry and the entire value chain; without investments we will not see job growth. There is a proposal from the unions on the table, which consists of establishing a Special Agricultural Economic Zone throughout the region, which would open up new opportunities to boost the activity of different sectors, such as tourism, commerce, construction, transport and gastronomy, around attracting investments in the agro-industry. To get this new way of organising economic activity going, it is essential that the governor leads this process.”
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