2  On aggregate, private consumption has been adjusting in tune with the reduction of liquid balances, a less dynamic labor market and more restrictive financial conditions for households. The composition of job creation has shifted from formal salaried workers to self-employed and informal wage earners. Overall, this has maintained a low rate of job creation for several months. In turn, the unemployment rate rose to 8.7% in the February-April quarter and real wages remain low, still affected by high inflation (figure 7). Credit access conditions have become more constrained for households, as reported by our firstquarter Bank Lending Survey. This survey also reports that demand for credit has tightened, in a context of high-interest rates and a growing financial burden, as we reported in our Financial Stability Report for the first half of this year. Investment remains weak, reflecting the performance of the macroeconomic scenario. During the first quarter, seasonally adjusted, gross fixed capital formation fell by -0.9% with respect to the previous period. This decline was seen both in construction & other works and in machinery & equipment, which posted quarterly variations of -0.2% and -1.9%, respectively. This is consistent with the weakness of construction, reflected in the activity data of the National Accounts, the Construction Activity Indicator (Imacon) and the decrease in capital imports since mid-2022 (figure 8). Turning to companies’ perceptions, they continue to evaluate the economic outlook negatively (IMCE).
(3) Calculated as the difference between CIF and FOB imports. (4) Preliminary data for May 2023 considers the average of that month, and for June the average of the first 15 days of June. Fifteen-year average covers from June 2018 to May 2023. Sources: Central Bank of Chile and Bloomberg. Figure 4  Activity and demand  (index, 2013.I=100, real deseasonalized series)  GDP  140  Non-mining GDP  Domestic demand  130 120 110 100 90 13  14  15  16  17  18  Source: Central Bank of Chile. 10  19  20  21  22  23  Figure 5  Private consumption  (index, 2013.I=100, real deseasonalized series)  200  Private consumption  Durable goods  Non-durable goods  Services  19  22  180 160 140 120 100 80 60 13  14  15  16  17  18  20  21  23  Source: Central Bank of Chile. Figure 6  Imports of consumer goods (1)  Spending in goods and services (2)  (index, 2018=100, real deseasonalized series)  Durables  160  (index, 2018=100, real deseasonalized series)  200  Non durables  180  140  160  120  140  100  120  80  100  60  80 60  40 19  20  21  22  17  23  (1) Moving quarterly averages. (2) Sales to residents. Subjected to revision.