Chile's Kast unveils $1.3 billion plan to create 100,000 jobs

September 28, 2026 1:06 PM EDT

FILE PHOTO: Chile's President Jose Antonio Kast reacts alongside first lady Maria Pia Adriasola, during the start of Chile's Independence Day festivities at Santiago's O'Higgins Park, Chile, September 16, 2026. REUTERS/Pablo Sanhueza/File Photo

SANTIAGO, Sept. 28 (Reuters) - ‌Chilean President ​Jose ​Antonio Kast unveiled a $1.3 billion plan on Monday aimed at creating ‌100,000 jobs through infrastructure, reconstruction, housing, and ⁠community projects.

• In the plan’s summary, the government noted ‌that unemployment has remained ‌above 8% for 43 consecutive months.

• “In the short term, this plan mobilizes 1.3 trillion ​Chilean pesos in investment, public works, and employment measures to generate economic activity ⁠and create more than 100,000 jobs, with effects that will ​begin to be felt over the coming months and through 2027,” the document ​stated.

• The measures are ‌designed to accelerate public investment, encourage hiring through incentives, improve business ⁠liquidity by expediting public payments, and coordinate community projects.

• Chile's unemployment rate hit 9.5% in July ⁠as economic growth slowed in the copper-rich nation that ​is heavily reliant on mineral exports and other natural-resource industries.

• The July figure was the highest unemployment ‌rate since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

• Kast has described unemployment ‌is a "major weakness" for his government and ⁠acknowledged that persistently high ‌joblessness has fueled ​public frustration.

(Report by Fabián Cambero; Writing by Iñigo Alexander. Editing by Lucinda ‌Elliott)



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