Key Points
- Unemployment was 8.0% in the October–December 2025 moving quarter, down 0.1 points year on year.
- First-time job seekers surged 24.4%, and the informal rate rose to 26.8%, raising questions about job quality.
- With broader slack at 16.5%, the numbers sharpen the debate on growth and interest-rate timing.
Chile closed 2025 with unemployment at 8.0% in the October–December moving quarter, according to INE. The rate was 0.4 points lower than the prior moving quarter.
The headline improvement came with a larger workforce. Over 12 months, the labor force rose 1.8% and employment rose 1.8%. Participation increased to 62.1%, and the employment rate reached 57.1%, both up 0.5 points.
But the same dataset shows ongoing strain. The number of unemployed people still rose 1.4% from a year earlier. That increase was driven by first-time job seekers, up 24.4%. For many new entrants, the door into formal work remains narrow.
The gender split is uneven. Women’s unemployment fell to 8.5%, down 0.9 points, as female employment grew 3.7%. Men’s unemployment rose to 7.7%, up 0.6 points, with male employment up 0.4% while the male labor force grew 1.0%.
Chile Jobs Improve As Informality Rises
Informality also moved the wrong way. The informal employment rate rose to 26.8%, up 0.4 points, reaching 28.7% for women and 25.4% for men. Employment gains were led by administrative and support services, accommodation and food, health, and transport.
Broader slack stayed high. INE’s combined measure of unemployment plus the “potential labor force” was 16.5%, with a 5.1-point gender gap. Average weekly hours worked slipped to 37.5, even as total hours rose 1.3%.
In Santiago’s Metropolitan Region, unemployment was 8.6%, down 0.2 points, while employment rose 2.1%. Politics is already wrapped around the release.
Government messaging stressed the lower headline rate and cited about 675,000 jobs created since March 2022. Others point to informality and entry-level pressure.
For international readers, Chile is still a benchmark for policy credibility and capital flows. For Brazil, it is a read-through to Andean demand and regional risk pricing.
A lower jobless rate supports confidence, but informality and newcomer stress can cap consumption and complicate rate-cut decisions.