Unemployment and labor informality trends in Antofagasta and Colombia

In the Antofagasta Region of Chile, the unemployment rate rose to 6.7% during the July-September 2026 quarter, a 0.4 percentage point increase from the previous measurement of 6.3%. Despite this quarterly rise, the rate reflects a 1.2 percentage point decrease compared to the same period in 2025, when it stood at 7.9%. The region recorded 26,056 unemployed individuals, a 14.7% decrease from the previous year. The number of employed persons reached 360,641, a 1% annual increase.

Labor informality in Antofagasta reached 19.1% during the same period, marking a 1.2 percentage point increase over twelve months. Female unemployment was recorded at 7.6%, while male unemployment was 6.1%.

In Colombia, data from DANE for 2025 indicates high levels of multidimensional business informality across major cities. The highest incidence rates were observed in mining (99.6%), transport and storage (98.4%), and construction (97.7%). Conversely, the lowest rates were found in education (75.3%) and human health activities (71.0%). Among microbusinesses, those employing only one person showed the highest informality rates, rising from 90.1% in 2024 to 91.5% in 2025.