Fynsa
During these days, I have been brutally homesick. For those of you who aren't familiar, October is the time of the Ironman World Ironman World Championshipsthe franchise that organizes triathlon competitions. triathlon competition organizing franchise the most important triathlon competition franchise on the globe, both full distance (an actual Ironman) and half distance (known as 70.3, because of the total miles to be run).
Chile, for several years now, has been hosting a stable edition of these competitions, the famous Ironman 70.3 of Pucónand one that we do not know if it will be done again, in Coquimbo.
Well, it turns out that the full-distance world championships will be held next week, in. Kona, Hawaiiand thanks to social media, I've been bombarded with photos from pros and amateurs (including Gabi from our team) of this wonderful island that I had the privilege of visiting (and competing in the 70.3) a few months ago.
I know you often wonder why I make such strange introductions that have little to do with economics. Well, it turns out that economics is more than just "money" and actually studies all the human decisions we make. Basically, think of a decision you have had to make where you were faced with a series of choices, given limited resources (time is also a resource). I'll wait for you to sit down. Sure, it turns out that many of those decisions are based on what to do with money, but it's not all of them, and I would argue that it's not necessarily most of them.
With this in mind, I jokingly commented that, if I saw one more photo of the pros training in Kona, I would do something crazy/foolish/irresponsible. Carolina, my wife, immediately jumped up and put the note of sanity, which was not so much when I told her that I obviously considered that madness to her. But well, if it wasn't her advice, it was quickly a matter of looking at the bank's page to return to reality and be content to enjoy in third person the wonders that Kailua, Waikoloa and Hawi have to offer. And the fact is, like the vast majority of us living in Chile, our family income comes exclusively from our work.
This is why the labor market is studied so carefully and in such detail. The behavior of this does not only mean looking at numbers, but at the welfare that each family member can access due to its dynamics.. Sure, maybe I frivolously think about going back to Hawaii, others about improving a room in their house, some about paying for their children's education and an important part about making ends meet. Or all of the above. The salary, the hours worked, the possibility of migrating to one with better conditions, the possibility of accessing one, the necessary conditions to even think about going out to look for a job, etc., are vital so that all these needs of the families can be solved.
Thus, recent employment figures are not something to be happy about. Even though the figure for the moving quarter ending in August did not mark an increase in the unemployment rate (7.9%), it has remained high compared to its history and no longer shows the job creation we saw a few months ago..... In fact, we see it quite likely that we will never again have the same amount of people working or even participating in the labor market that we had prior to the social outbreak/pandemic due to structural changes that have taken place in the economy, a phenomenon not only present in Chile, but globally.
Therefore, the challenge is twofold, The challenge is twofold: on the one hand, we must try to maximize the quantity and quality of jobs available with the current skills of the labor force, which can be done by taking measures to increase growth and improve labor legislation, including trade agreements..
However, there are also long-term there are also long-term challenges related to adapting the skills that current and, above all, future generations must have in order to best participate in a rapidly changing world. to participate in the best way in a world that is changing faster and faster. None of these discussions can outweigh the other and undoubtedly require multiple efforts and disciplines to bring them to a successful conclusion. But hopefully we don't wait for this to hit us in the face to realize how important it is, so that tomorrow, more and more of us will be able to participate in a world that is changing at an ever faster pace. so that, tomorrow, more individuals and families can have such satisfying concerns as wanting to return to the vacation spot where they were happy.
