Study shows that 50% of workers in Chile earn below income poverty line

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “54.7% of the total number of employed people in Chile, could not lift an average family out of poverty (59.9% in the case of women and 51.2% for men), which accounts for the high levels of precariousness that exist in the world of work.”

This is one of the main conclusions of the study “Los verdaderos sueldos de Chile. Panorama actual del valor de la fuerza de trabajo usando la Encuesta Suplementaria de Ingresos ESI (2020)”, by Fundación Sol, which points out that in the country there is a “considerable wage backwardness”.

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In this line, the research details that “in November 2020, the income poverty line in Chile for an average 4-person household is Ch$459,534 (US$587). If only the salaried employees in the private sector are considered who work a 40-hour working week and more, the median is Ch$500,000, which means that 47.2% could not even lift an average family group out of poverty, and at least two people must work in the household”.

Another fact of the study is that 50% of Chilean workers earn less than Ch$420,000 (US$537), and 7 out of 10 workers earn less than Ch$635,000 net of taxes. In addition, only 20.4% earn more than Ch$850,000 net.

“In real terms, even though the 2020 median wage (Ch$420 thousand) is Ch$7 thousand higher than that observed in 2019, this is mainly due to the destruction of low-paying female jobs. Therefore, this is not good news, and it can even be seen that the 2020 median is almost Ch$15 thousand lower than the median published in 2017. In the regions of Antofagasta and Aysén, it is even lower than what was reported in 2016”, it points out.

TERRITORIAL PANORAMA

The panorama of salaries according to the region is not encouraging either. The study revealed that in Coquimbo, Valparaíso, Libertador, Maule, Biobío, La Araucanía, Los Ríos, Arica y Parinacota, and Ñuble a more pronounced salary backwardness is observed, since 70% of the employed receive less than Ch$600 thousand.

On the other hand, in 16 of the country’s 32 large cities, the average wage did not exceed Ch$400,000; in 13, it was between Ch$401,000 and Ch$500,000, and only in Puerto Aysén, Antofagasta, and Punta Arenas is it above Ch$500,000.

Likewise, in 34 of the 52 provinces where information is available, the average did not exceed Ch$400 thousand, and only in 16 provinces, 30% of the workers earn more than Ch$500 thousand.

OVERVIEW BY WORKING DAY

The analysis of salaries from the point of view of the working day reveals that 49.6% of workers who work 40 hours or more per week earn Ch$500,000 after taxes or less, and only 25.2% earn more than Ch$850,000.

In addition, 63.2% of those who work 40 hours or more per week and are hired by large companies earn less than Ch$850,000 liquid for their main job. In the commercial sector, 69.7% of the employees who work 40 hours and more in the large company earn less than Ch$635 thousand liquid.

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