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Original article: Fundación Sol advierte: «El desempleo es mayor de lo que indican las cifras oficiales”

Fundación SOL Researcher Indicates Chile’s Employment Crisis Surpasses the Official 9.4% Unemployment Rate, Exposing Structural Deterioration in the Labor Market

A recent analysis by Gonzalo Durán, an academic from the University of Chile and researcher at Fundación SOL, published in Cúper Chile, argues that the latest labor market figures released by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) reveal a far more complex reality than indicated by the official unemployment rate. Although the statistic stands at 9.4%, roughly equivalent to around one million job-seekers who are available for work, Durán contends that there are at least three structural phenomena that are partially invisible in the official statistics, allowing for a deeper understanding of the deterioration of paid work in Chile.

The first identified issue pertains to hidden unemployment due to job discouragement. Durán explains that the official methodology counts an individual as employed if they worked just one hour during the reference week, even if they are actively seeking more hours to increase their income. Additionally, those who give up searching for work after repeated rejections, while still being available for employment, are no longer counted as unemployed and instead fall into the inactive category. When this phenomenon is included, along with some underutilization among those working few hours, the resulting unemployment rate, as estimated by Fundación SOL, currently reaches 13.2%, a level that has persistently remained above double digits since 2010, revealing a structural issue.

The study also emphasizes the makeup of employment recovery post-pandemic. From the period of May to July 2020 to the figures published in 2026, approximately 2.3 million net jobs were created. However, the employment rate has not yet recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels. Furthermore, a significant proportion of new positions has been filled by older individuals. Of the jobs created since 2020, 22.3% are held by people aged 60 and older, while in the last two years alone, this share has risen to 42%, and even reached 45% in the past year. The analysis indicates that this trend results from both the inadequacy of the pension system to ensure sufficient income in old age and the economic necessity forcing many to continue working beyond retirement age.

A third noteworthy phenomenon is the sustained growth of second jobs. According to the researcher, when salaries prove insufficient, working more becomes a necessity rather than an option. In Chile, it’s noted that half of the workforce earns less than $600,000 net monthly, and between 2022 and the present, the proportion of individuals with a second job has increased by around 50%. Much of the time freed up by the gradual implementation of the 40-hour workweek has been taken up by these additional jobs, as well as domestic and caregiving tasks—primarily performed by women—that enable other household members to enter the job market. The analysis adds that this phenomenon is closely related to the high cost of living: recent estimates indicate that 64% of workers living in rented homes would not be able to lift a three-person household out of poverty relying solely on their labor income.

For Gonzalo Durán, all three indicators converge on one conclusion: «Unemployment is greater than indicated by the official figures; an increasing portion of new jobs is being filled by people who should be able to exercise their right to a decent pension; and more workers need to extend their hours to compensate for insufficient wages, despite the official reduction in working hours.»

Finally, the researcher asserts that these processes are not isolated phenomena but rather part of a structural dynamics within the labor market. He believes that capitalism continuously reproduces a «reserve army» of workers, particularly after periods of economic downturn and overproduction, which weakens the bargaining power of workers and applies pressure on wages. In this context, he claims the magnitude of this phenomenon also depends on the balance of power between capital and labor, the labor institutions, and the capacity for collective organization.

In this regard, the academic concludes that the employment debate in Chile should not be limited to merely counting the number of jobs created. He emphasizes that it is essential to discuss the conditions under which these jobs are created and whether they allow individuals to perform their roles with sufficient income, stability, protection, security, and dignity—elements that are crucial for a comprehensive assessment of the quality of the Chilean labor market.

La entrada Fundación SOL Warns: Actual Unemployment Rate in Chile is Understated se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.