* Chile’s national mining society (Sonami) has published figures on employment in the mining sector between March and May, which reveal that employment fell by 15% compared with the same period in 2019, from 236,500 people to 201,000. In a statement,
Álvaro Merino, who carried out the study for Sonami, described this as a “
clear indication” of the effects of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, adding that such low employment numbers had not been seen in the sector since October 2017. Merino warned that it was “
very likely” that this figure will continue to fall in the April-June quarter, considering that more national quarantine restrictions were in place in June than in March. The statement notes that the mining sector fared slightly better than some other sectors, with overall employment down 16.5% year-on-year. However, Merino expressed particular concern regarding increasing unemployment in the mining regions of northern Chile; unemployment in Antofagasta Region rose from 9.1% to 13.2%, making it the region with the highest unemployment level in the country.
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