SANTIAGO, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Chile's unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in the January-March quarter, a decrease of 2.6 percentage points from the same period last year, the National Statistics Institute (INE) reported Thursday.

       According to the National Employment Survey, the number of unemployed fell by 20.9 percent in the quarter, taking into account the unemployed and first-time job seekers.

       The INE stated in its report that both women (10.5 percent) and men (6.2 percent) contributed to the rise in employment.

       The job hike was affected by the commerce, health and construction sectors, while formal salaried, self-employed and informal salaried workers were influential.

       Meanwhile, the informal employment rate reached 27.3 percent, a growth of 0.6 percentage points from the same period in 2021, while the number of informally employed increased by 10.3 percent.

       According to a survey released last week, the South American country had recovered the jobs it lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.