Chile's unemployment rate reached 9.8% in the July-September 2026 quarter, 1.3 percentage points higher than a year earlier, according to the National Employment Survey of the National Statistics Institute (INE), released on Thursday, October 29. The number of unemployed people reached 1,007,976, according to INE bulletin No. 336: the first time in this cycle that the figure has passed one million.
The increase came because the labor force grew 0.3% while the number of employed people fell 1.1% over twelve months. In other words, more people are looking for work and there are fewer jobs. This article sums up the key INE data, the sectors and regions losing the most jobs, and the government's response.
Chile unemployment in numbers: what the INE reported
| Indicator (July-September 2026) | Value | 12-month change |
|---|---|---|
| Unemployment rate | 9.8% | +1.3 points |
| Unemployed people | 1,007,976 | +15.3% |
| Employed people | 9,274,742 | −1.1% |
| Labor force | 10,282,718 | +0.3% |
| Employment rate | 55.5% | −1.1 points |
| Participation rate | 61.6% | −0.3 points |
| Informal employment rate | 26.4% | +0.2 points |
| Seasonally adjusted rate | 9.6% | +0.2 points from the previous quarter |
Source: quarterly employment bulletin No. 336 and INE press release. Among the unemployed, people who lost a job rose 14.4% and first-time job seekers rose 24.7%. The seasonally adjusted rate, which strips out the effects of each time of year, also rose, to 9.6%.
In the previous rolling quarter, June-August, the rate was 9.6%. The EFE news agency described the new figure as a five-year high, meaning since the pandemic period. The full historical series, with the worst and best years since 1976, is in our ranking of Chile's unemployment over the last 50 years.
Which sectors are losing jobs in Chile
According to the INE, the drop in employment was concentrated in three sectors. By type of job, formal wage earners (−2.5%) and employers (−2.8%) fell the most.
| Sector or category | 12-month change in employment | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Information and communications | −20.8% | The largest relative drop; −29% in the Santiago Metropolitan Region |
| Financial and insurance activities | −14.1% | Banks, insurers and financial services |
| Manufacturing | −8.1% | Factories and industrial plants |
| Construction | +2.8% | One of the sectors adding jobs |
| Education | +2.4% | Also rising |
| Formal wage earners | −2.5% | Losing jobs with contracts and social security contributions |
Source: INE bulletin No. 336. Total hours worked fell 2.2% over twelve months and the weekly average stood at 36 hours. The report also compares the survey with the Pensions Superintendency's records of contributors: in May-July, dependent contributors fell 0.1% over twelve months, less than the survey showed for the same period (−2.4%).
Chile unemployment by region
Unemployment rose in 12 of the 16 regions. The statistically significant increases were in Los Lagos (+2.2 points), Maule (+2.2), O'Higgins (+2.1), Metropolitan (+1.6) and Valparaíso (+1.4), according to the INE presentation.
| Region | Unemployment rate (Jul-Sep 2026) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ñuble | 11.8% | The highest in the country |
| O'Higgins | 10.9% | Second highest; +2.1 points in a year |
| Metropolitan | 10.4% | +1.6 points in a year |
| Biobío | 10.5% | Third highest |
| Antofagasta | 6.7% | Among the lowest |
| Magallanes | 6.4% | Second lowest |
| Aysén | 4.0% | The lowest in the country |
Source: INE, presentation of July-September 2026 results. Regional rates have wider margins of error than the national rate, so the INE only considers changes significant when they exceed the confidence interval. The highest informality is in La Araucanía (33.7%), Los Ríos (33.5%) and Ñuble (32.5%).
Women's unemployment in Chile reaches 10.5%
- Women: the rate rose to 10.5% (+1.4 points). Their labor force grew 1.4% and employed women fell 0.1%.
- Men: the rate reached 9.3% (+1.2 points). Employed men fell 1.9%, a sharper drop than among women.
- Participation: women's rose to 53.1%, while men's fell to 70.4%.
- Informality: 28.2% among women and 25.1% among men.
Source: INE. A broader measure, the rate that adds the unemployed and people who want to work but are not looking (known as SU3), reached 17.9%, its eleventh consecutive increase according to the INE.
What the government said about rising unemployment
Labor Minister Tomás Rau said that "the figures are not good and we are not going to minimize them," according to CNN Chile. He added that "economic growth and job growth go hand in hand" and highlighted the Chile Despega plan, which according to the minister allocates more than 1.3 trillion pesos to public works, housing and hiring subsidies. The hiring subsidy has received more than 120,000 applications, and the unified employment subsidy more than 170,000.
Rau also asked Congress to back the universal childcare bill, which will be debated in detail next week, and mentioned more flexible use of the 40-hour week and an hourly contract in the works. From the opposition, the Communist Party proposed an emergency income for the unemployed, according to Meganoticias. The economic context is in the IMF's cut to Chile's growth forecast and in the central bank's latest decision.
| Rolling quarter | Unemployment rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July-September 2025 | 8.5% | INE |
| June-August 2026 | 9.6% | INE |
| July-September 2026 | 9.8% | INE |
Sources: INE, July-September and INE, June-August. The comparison with the rest of the region is in our ranking of unemployment in Latin America, where Chile already had the highest rate, and the Mexican figure is in our story on unemployment in Mexico.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chile's unemployment rate today?
9.8% in the July-September 2026 quarter, according to the INE. The seasonally adjusted rate is 9.6%.
How many unemployed people are there in Chile?
1,007,976 unemployed people in July-September 2026, 15.3% more than a year earlier.
Which region has the highest unemployment in Chile?
Ñuble, at 11.8%, followed by O'Higgins (10.9%) and Biobío (10.5%). The lowest is Aysén (4.0%).
What is women's unemployment in Chile?
10.5%, compared with 9.3% for men, in the July-September 2026 quarter.
When is the next unemployment figure released?
The INE publishes a rolling quarter every month; the August-October 2026 figure should come out in late November.
