The August edition of the Report of Business Perception (IPN), published by the Chilean Central Bank shows a discouraging outlook.

Most companies surveyed stated that there have been no changes in staff, and they expect the situation to remain de same.

According to most survey respondents, “there still is idle capacity to margin adjustments implemented in the last few years, which have led companies to improve efficiency and produce with fewer human resources, as the mechanization and automation process makes them work less, despite a growth of the demand”.

The complex situation for new hiring occurs in a moment of a strange perception regarding investments. There are no projects in large scale mining, and the other sectors show lower levels of activity.

Another issue of concern is linked to the commercial war between the United States and its partners. This situation could have serious impacts in the following quarters in terms of external demand and investment, the price of copper, and the exchange rate.

Survey respondents state it is “complex to transfer exchange rate increases to prices”.