Jobs slowly returning to Chile's mining sector
The number of workers in Chile's mining industry is slowly rising again in yet another sign the industry is recovering after years in the doldrums.
The number of mining jobs grew 3.6% in the past six months to 200,000, according to Sonami, which groups the country's private sector miners.
Compared to a year ago, the sector increased the number of positions by 3,000, or 1.6%, Sonami said. The increase compares to the loss of jobs in other sectors like construction (-5.9%), manufacturing (-2.7%) and transport (-0.6%).
Following the end of the commodities supercycle, several mining companies announced massive layoff programs as a way to counter the drop in metals prices and rising costs.
However, Chile's traditional northern mining regions have the highest unemployment rates. While the national jobless rate in the June-August quarter was 6.6%, in northern Antofagasta region (II) it was 9.3%, the highest in the country.
Sonami's director of studies, Álvaro Merino, said the situation in Antofagasta – home to major mines like BHP's Escondida and Spence, Antofagasta's Centinela and Codelco's northern district – was particularly worrisome, as it was the fifth consecutive month with the highest unemployment rate in the country.
The northern Tarapacá (I), Atacama (III) and Coquimbo (IV) regions also had higher jobless rates than the national average, at 7.5%, 6.8% and 7.1%, respectively.
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