By far, the occupation that could face the greatest labor shortage in Chile is motorcycle drivers, where 61.1% of workers are Venezuelan. File Photo by Ronald Pena/EPA
SANTAIGO, Chile, May 15 (UPI) -- The departure of more than 30,000 Venezuelan workers from Chile's labor market in recent months has become an unprecedented trend that analysts say appears linked to tougher immigration policies under President José Antonio Kast and, to a greater extent, Venezuela's political reconfiguration.
A study by the Economic Context Observatory at Diego Portales University found that the Venezuelan labor force in Chile fell 5.4% during the January-March quarter, marking five consecutive months of year-over-year declines.
Over that period, Chile's overall labor force grew 1.1%.
"This is not an isolated phenomenon. The magnitude of the decline in the Venezuelan labor force had not been observed in previous periods," economist Juan Bravo, director of the Economic Context Observatory and author of the study, told UPI.
