Argentina loses over 140,000 formal jobs under President Milei
Since President Javier Milei took office, Argentina has seen a sharp contraction in formal employment. An Instituto Argentina Grande report shows a loss of about 141,700 salaried jobs in the last twelve months, while a separate study based on Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo data counts 28,262 firm closures and a cumulative loss of roughly 341,400 formal jobs.
The decline is concentrated in construction, manufacturing and services. Although the monotributo regime added 49,500 new registrants, it did not offset the job losses, and 85 % of the new workers are informal, amounting to 201,000 of 238,000 recent hires. At the same time, consumer confidence fell sharply – the index dropped 4.78 % month‑on‑month in July, with low‑income households seeing an 11.47 % decline.
Exports have become the main growth engine, now representing 24.4 % of GDP – the highest share since 2004 – while domestic activity indicators remain weak. The monthly activity estimator (EMAE) slipped 0.5 % in May 2026, marking a second consecutive decline, and wages lagged inflation, with a 1.8 % nominal rise versus a 2.1 % price increase, eroding real pay.
Entities: ADIMRA · Argentina · Instituto Argentina Grande · President Javier Milei · Viceminister José Luis Daza
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] 85 % of the new workers are informal, representing 201,000 of 238,000 recent hires. (Instituto Argentina Grande report)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Exports now account for 24.4 % of Argentina's GDP, the highest share since 2004. (Economic analysis by CONTAINER)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Argentina's consumer confidence index fell 4.78 % month‑on‑month in July, with low‑income households dropping 11.47 %. (University Torcuato Di Tella survey)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Nominal wages rose 1.8 % in May 2026 while inflation ran at 2.1 %, eroding real wages. (Indec and labor market data)
- [DISPUTED] About 141,700 formal salaried jobs were lost in Argentina over the past twelve months. (Instituto Argentina Grande (IAG) report)
- [DISPUTED] Since President Javier Milei took office, 28,262 firms have closed and 341,396 formal jobs have been lost. (Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo data analysis)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The monotributo regime added 49,500 new registrants in the last year, insufficient to offset formal job losses. (Instituto Argentina Grande report)
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The monthly activity estimator (EMAE) declined 0.5 % in May 2026, marking a second consecutive monthly decline. (Indec official data)