Neuquén province employment outcomes amid national job losses

The provincial employment program Emplea Neuquén, launched earlier this year, has registered 32,415 participants. According to data from the Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo and Minister of Labor and Development Lucas Castelli, 11,792 people (about one‑third of registrants) secured formal jobs between May 2024 and now. Of those placed, 7,039 remain active with new employers and 3,907 have kept the same job, indicating a degree of stability. Castelli said the programme “allowed thousands of Neuquinos to access real labour opportunities.”

A separate analysis of the first two years of President Javier Milei’s economic model shows a net decline in formal private employment across most Argentine regions. Between September 2023 and September 2025, the AMBA lost the most jobs in absolute terms, while the proportional drop was steeper in the northeast (‑7.1%) and northwest (‑3.4%). Only Neuquén and Río Negro recorded net gains in formal private jobs, linked to activity in the Vaca Muerta oil‑and‑gas basin.