Argentina formal jobs fall as minimum wage loses 40% purchasing power

A March 2024 report from the University of Buenos Aires' Institute of Interdisciplinary Economic Politics found that Argentina's formal employment slipped by 11,000 positions, with private‑sector formal jobs down 0.1% month‑on‑month and a cumulative loss of more than 217,000 private jobs since November 2023. Overall employment levels now mirror those of June 2022, indicating a prolonged stagnation.

The same analysis highlighted a sharp deterioration in the real value of the minimum wage, which has lost 39.7% of its purchasing power between November 2023 and May 2026—its lowest level since the 2001 crisis and a loss of nearly 40% relative to pre‑inflationary levels.

Separately, a June 2026 salary‑expectation survey cited by Agencia Noticias Argentinas shows the average gross wage demanded by Argentine workers at about 1.78 million pesos per month. Expected earnings are highest in senior management (≈2.8 million) and in the mining, oil and gas sector (≈2.55 million), while low‑skill roles such as call‑center work remain near 1.03 million pesos.