Chilean President Jose Antonio Kast unveiled a $1.3 billion plan on Monday aimed at creating 100,000 jobs through infrastructure, reconstruction, housing and community projects.

The plan mobilises 1.3 trillion Chilean pesos in investment, public works and employment measures, with effects expected over the coming months and through 2027. The measures accelerate public investment, offer hiring incentives, speed up public payments to improve business liquidity and coordinate community projects.

The announcement comes amid stubbornly high unemployment: the rate hit 9.5% in July, the highest since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, and has remained above 8% for 43 consecutive months.

Kast has described unemployment as a “major weakness” for his government, acknowledging that persistently high joblessness has fuelled public frustration in the copper-rich nation.

Chile’s economy has slowed in recent months, heavily reliant on mineral exports and natural-resource industries, and the jobs plan represents Kast’s most ambitious economic intervention yet.

The plan also coordinates reconstruction works in areas hit by recent disasters, where officials say jobs are expected to materialise fastest.