Updated
Updated · Buenos Aires Herald · Sep 11
Argentina Private Sector Loses 246,312 Jobs Under Milei as 31,342 Businesses Close
Updated
Updated · Buenos Aires Herald · Sep 11

Argentina Private Sector Loses 246,312 Jobs Under Milei as 31,342 Businesses Close

1 articles · Updated · Buenos Aires Herald · Sep 11

Summary

  • June private-sector payrolls fell another 0.1%, or 6,261 jobs, leaving formal employment 246,312 below November 2023 levels under Javier Milei.
  • Labor ministry data showed employment down 1.9% from a year earlier, with the seasonally adjusted series at its lowest level in 50 months as manufacturing, construction and consumer-linked activity kept weakening.
  • Eleven of 14 sectors tracked since Milei took office have shrunk, led by construction at -14.2%, mining and quarrying at -8.1%, and manufacturing at -7.4%.
  • Neuquén and Río Negro are the only provinces above November 2023 employment levels, while Buenos Aires Province has lost 90,103 jobs, underscoring a split between Vaca Muerta-linked growth and the broader real economy.
  • CEPA estimates 31,342 businesses have closed since Milei took office, suggesting the employment slide is being reinforced by a broad corporate shakeout.

Insights

With Argentina's formal businesses hitting a 20-year low in 2026, is the resource boom hiding a permanent collapse of the middle class?
As informal work swallows nearly half the workforce, will the celebrated energy surplus ever translate into survival for everyday citizens?