Unemployment in Biobío reaches 10.5% and occupation falls in manufacturing industry and construction

The Biobío Region recorded 11,016 fewer employed people in the July-September 2026 quarter, while the manufacturing industry and construction sectors mainly contributed to the decrease in employment, according to the latest bulletin from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

The regional unemployment rate reached 10.5%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period in 2025. In total, the region counted 82,027 unemployed people, 2.9% more than a year ago, equivalent to 2,295 additional people in this condition.

According to the report, the number of employed people reached 700,893, representing a year-on-year decline of 1.5%. This setback was mainly influenced by the decrease in employment in the manufacturing industry, which fell 9.4%, and construction, with a drop of 6.2%.

In contrast, some activities showed positive performance. Commerce increased its occupation by 5.4%, while agriculture and fishing recorded growth of 10.7% over twelve months.

Differences in employment

The report also shows differences by sex and age. Female unemployment reached 11%, after rising 0.7 percentage points over twelve months, while male unemployment stood at 10.1%, with an increase of 0.2 points.

Regarding occupation by age, the 15 to 34 segment presented a negative variation of 9.8%, while people aged 55 and over recorded an increase of 4.6%.

By occupational category, the decline was marked by formal salaried workers, who decreased 3.4%, and domestic service personnel, with a contraction of 20.3%. In contrast, informal salaried workers increased 7.9% and self-employed workers grew 2.2%.

Labor informality also showed an advance. The informal occupation rate reached 27.3%, an increase of one percentage point over twelve months. In absolute terms, informally employed people reached 191,433, representing a year-on-year rise of 2.2%, equivalent to 4,135 people.

Labor participation

The labor force participation rate stood at 55.9%, one percentage point less than in the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the occupation rate reached 50%, with a decrease of 1.2 percentage points.

The INE bulletin also recorded an increase of 2.9% in the population outside the labor force, equivalent to 17,413 additional inactive people. Likewise, the labor pressure rate—which considers employed people seeking employment and other components of the labor supply—reached 17.4%, with an increase of 0.3 percentage points.

The figures reflect a challenging labor scenario for Biobío, with setbacks in sectors relevant to regional productive activity and an increase in informality. Although commerce and agriculture and fishing showed advances, these were not enough to compensate for the general decline in occupation during the analyzed period.