The unemployment rate has remained below 3% for 17 consecutive months, with the decline accompanied by a recovery in employment levels and improved working conditions.

The unemployment rate decreased from 2.5% to 2.3% in March, marking its lowest level in history, according to the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE). The decrease in unemployment was accompanied by an improvement in job creation and the quality of employment.

At the end of the first quarter of the year, nearly 100,000 people exited the unemployed population, allowing the rate to decrease for the second consecutive month. So far this year, unemployment has decreased by 0.6 percentage points.

With the March data, unemployment has remained below 3% for 17 consecutive months when considering seasonally adjusted figures. The result is consistent with a positive seasonal pattern, reflecting the metric’s adjustment after the typically higher rates in the first two months of the year.

Although the overall unemployment rate experienced a decline, extended unemployment marginally increased by 0.1 percentage point, reaching 9.7%. This was due to an increase in those classified as ‘available’ in the Not Economically Active Population (NEAP).

Alongside the reduction in the unemployed population, employment levels showed positive signs in March. In the third month of the year, 414,335 people were added to employment, with the majority finding jobs in the formal sector and under favorable employment conditions.