The Central Bank's Labor Ads Index reached 70.7 points in June, down 6.1% year over year. The unemployment rate hit 9.4% in the March-May quarter, the highest since 2021.
The National Statistics Institute reported that the national unemployment rate reached 9.4% in the rolling March-May quarter. This represents an increase of 0.5 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
The Labor Ads Index published by the Central Bank shows a 6.1% year-over-year decline in June and completes eight consecutive months of contractions. Relative to May the index recorded a 4.9% rise.
Carmen Cifuentes, economist at Clapes-UC, stated that the index has accumulated eight months of annual declines and confirms that demand for new hires remains weak. Juan Acuña, economist at OCEC-UDP, noted that formal private-sector salaried employment completed five consecutive months of destruction.
Vittorio Corbo, former Central Bank president, projected GDP growth between 1% and 1.5% for this year, along with inflation of 3.6% to 3.8%. The government is reviewing initiatives to boost employment after the megareform approval.
