Brazil & Southern Cone - February 2013 (ISSN 1741-4431)

Historic low in unemployment: On 27 February, Chile’s national statistics agency (INE) released figures which put the unemployment rate for November 2012 to January 2013 at 6.0%, the lowest figure since Piñera took office in March 2010. The rate for November 2011 to January 2012 was 6.6%. Labour Minister Evelyn Matthei said that 817,000 new jobs had been created under the Piñera government. According to Matthei, the biggest annual increases were registered in financial intermediation (14.3%); fishing (13.2%); exploitation of mines and quarries (12.6%) and education (10.0%). At the end of January, the INE reported that Chile’s average unemployment rate in 2012 was 6.4%, well down from a 7.1% average in 2011 and 8.1% in 2010.

Exports: According to figures released by Chile’s Central Bank on 25 February, Chile’s exports reached US$79bn in 2012, down 3.2% on the previous year. The bank highlighted a 5% drop in industry exports and 2.6% decline in mining, noting that exports to the European Union (EU), dropped 17% to US$14bn. Exports to the US also dropped 3% over 2012, to reach US$24bn. Of the US$79bn total, copper exports accounted for US$43bn, (out of total mining exports of US$47bn). This is down from 2011 where copper exports reached US$44bn and total mining exports reached US$49bn.