Chilean Government highlights GDP growth and increase in Chilean investment
GDP rose by 5.3% in the second quarter of 2018, during President Sebastián Piñera’s Government term. This is the highest growth rate in the last six years. Likewise, investment increased by 7.1%, the best result in five years.
Treasury Minister Felipe Larraín highlighted the substantial growth of the economy, shown by the Balance of Payments and National Accounts statistics for the second quarter this year, reported on Monday by the Central Bank.
According to the Central Bank, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the April-June period grew by 5.3% year-on-year, higher than the 5.2% estimated by the Monthly Indicator of Economic Activity, IMACEC, for that period.
Minister Larraín emphasized the greater expansion of economic activity, indicating that the growth in GDP during the second quarter of this year is the highest since the third quarter of 2012. He also mentioned the significant upturn in investment, which grew by 7.1% in the second quarter, the highest recorded growth since quarter three of 2013.
“We are leaving behind a cycle of four consecutive years of declining investment. Investment is growing rapidly, seen both in investments in machinery and equipment, which expanded by 12.5%, as well as in the recovery in construction, which increased 4% in the second quarter. This is good news because investments are materializing into projects; this is a reality and these are initiatives that are generating economic activity,” the Treasury Minister said, stating he expects these positive figures to result in more and better jobs.
Mr. Larraín also referred to the 7.5% surge in exports and 10% increase in imports, during quarter two, as well as the strong export performance in the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors (16.5%) and industrial sector (9%), higher even than the growth in mining exports (8.9%).
“The reality described in the National Accounts reveals that this economy is growing robustly. This doesn’t mean that we’ve won the battle. We need to work very hard and continue our efforts so that these good economic figures can be maintained over time,” the Minister added.
Mr. Larraín took the opportunity to praise the recent successful outcomes of collective bargaining agreement negotiations, such those at mining company Minera Escondida. “The agreements that were reached are very important for both the companies and the workers,” he said.
When consulted on the specific impact that the improved figures had on the population, the Minister stressed that the Government is working in that direction. He noted that although the unemployment rate had increased to 7.2% according to the latest figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE), data show that 170,000 jobs were created, 76,000 of which are private wage-earning positions with a contract and social security benefits. “We see concrete improvements in the figures. However, this requires an important effort and we must rise to the challenge of ensuring these positive figures are maintained and result in quality employment,” he concluded.