The unemployment rate reached its highest level in almost two years. According to the National Institute of Statistics, unemployment reached 7.8% in the December-February 2020 period. The figure was 0.4% higher than in the previous period (November-January), when unemployment reached 7.4%.
Month: March 2020
Covid-19: AFP UNO proposes that up to 5% of the funds can be withdrawn
Adding to what is already a fact in Peru, the pension fund administrator AFP UNO proposed that up to 5% of the funds in Chile could be withdrawn in order to face the crisis caused by the spread of the coronavirus.
Santiago’s Stock Exchange marks its fourth consecutive day of growth
IPSA finished Monday's round with a 2.72 percent climb to 3,310 points.Thus, this indicator has shown a rebound in recent days in the midst of an extreme negative month for global markets due to the strong impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
LATAM Group will continue services in Chile and USA only
LATAM Airlines Group and its affiliates announced that they will temporarily suspend additional international services until April 30, 2020, due to travel restrictions put in place by national authorities. LATAM Airlines Brazil and LATAM Airlines Group will operate services between Santiago and Sao Paulo. LATAM Airlines Brazil and LATAM Airlines Group will also continue to fly from Sao Paulo to Miami and New York, as well as serve Miami and Los Angeles from Santiago.
Government launches public-private coordination board to deal with Covid-19
President Sebastián Piñera launched the public-private coordination board, a committee that aims to facilitate and carry out coordinated work between the government and businesses to better deal with the consequences of the coronavirus.
The Chilean economy is at about 70% capacity
The retail and tourism sector, which accounts for more than 10% of GDP, is operating at 40-50% of its capacity. Construction, in turn, has seen a 25% decrease in its activity. In agriculture, it is doing so at between 70% and 80%.
S&P forecasts a mild recession for Chile this year but a strong rebound in 2021
S&P Global Ratings estimated that most Latin American economies will be in recession by 2020. In the case of Chile, the rating agency estimates that the country's economy will contract slightly by 0.2% in 2020. It also expects a strong recovery in 2021, with a projected growth of around 3%.
BHP allocates $8 million dollars to implement rapid tests for Covid-19
Mining company BHP developed various programmes to support the public health network, its workers and the communities near the mines that sums up to $8 million. The company will implement a program of rapid tests for Covid-19 that will include 150.000 tests.
Government grants emergency voucher for 2.6 million households
The government will grant an emergency bond to about 2.6 million households to help them mitigate the impact of the Coronavirus outbreak in Chile. The bond will benefit households with an average income of about Ch$250,000 ($298.2).
Senior business leaders estimate that there will be a recession in 2020
A survey by PwC and Cadem in Chile revealed that senior executives of companies in that country consider that Chile will enter recession in 2020. The survey of 300 top executives showed that 70% of those polled believe that Chile's GDP will be negative in 2020. Likewise, 56% think that it will take more than six months for companies to normalise their activities after the Coronavirus pandemic that is shaking the world.
