Chile's jobless rate in the December-to-February period rose to 6.4 percent, while industrial production expanded 4.6 percent, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Wednesday.
Unemployment was above the 6.2 percent median forecast of 10 economists polled by Reuters, but was substantially lower than the 7.8 percent rate in the same period last year. But it topped the 6.1 percent rate for the November-to-January period reported last month. "I was expecting 6.2 and it came in at 6.4. Not a big difference," said Alberto Ramos, an economist with Goldman Sachs in New York.
The INE said the work force grew 0.6 percent in the 12 months through February after experiencing a slight decline in the second half of 2006, while employment grew by 2.1 percent over the same 12-month period.
The INE said year-on-year employment growth was being driven by an increase in salaried jobs, as self-employment and domestic work continued to decline. The 4.6 percent rise in industrial production in February, which exceeded a 3.7 percent increase in January, "was determined fundamentally by the increase in the wood and paper industries and in the food industry," the INE said in its report.
The two sectors, both of which are strongly oriented toward export, together account for 56 percent of the production included in the index, it said.
"Industrial production was pretty nice," said Ramos. "It seems the scenario the minister of finance and the central bank have in mind of a steady recovery in economic growth is materialising, which is good news." The rise in industrial production was above the median forecast of a rise of 4.3 percent according to eight economists polled by Reuters.
Industrial sales rose 6.6 percent in February over the same month last year. Ramos said he was not impressed with the decline in capital and durable goods, but it was mitigated by the large increase in January.
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