Debt relief for small business intended to help bolster economy.(Chile)(Brief Article)

SANTIAGO -- Less than a week after the Central Bank cut its reference interest by half a point in early March, the government announced a debt-relief package for small and mid-sized firms intended to jump start the country's flagging job market.

When President Ricardo Lagos took office last March, he predicted that 200,000 new jobs would be created by December, reducing unemployment to around 7.5%, down from a peak of 11.5% in August 1999. However, by January, unemployment was 8.4% and the promised jobs had failed to materialized.

High unemployment has helped keep domestic ...

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