MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Wages keep losing purchase power in Argentina, study finds

Salaries had outpaced inflation under Alberto Fernández (2019-2023)

According to a study released Friday in Buenos Airers by the Research and Training Center of the Argentine Republic (Cifra), formal wages took a slump of nearly 15% in the last semester, particularly after the Dec. 13 118.3% devaluation of the local currency once Javier Milei took office as president.

In January, the real fall in wages had reached 21.3%, hitting those with smaller incomes the hardest as prices of food and beverages soared. These items went up by over 65% between Dec. 2023 and Feb 2024, triggering a recession that eventually resulted in an inflationary slowdown.

“Some bargaining negotiations were able to recover part of what they had lost, which is shown in the average as a minimum relative rebound,” Cifra's report noted.

Public sector workers lost 21.3% of their purchasing power while those in privately-owned activities suffered only an 11.2% decrease for a 14.9% average for the semester. In addition, minimum wages were depreciated by 28.8% between Nov. 2023 and May this year.

Analyzing in retrospect until the beginning of Alberto Fernandez's Government (Dec. 2019), compared to Nov. 2019, the real income of formal workers fell back by 24.2% (and 32% measured in food); those of the public sector contracted by almost 30% while those of the private sector contracted by 20.9%.

In June 2023, the Wage Index had increased by 6.1% monthly and 108.7% year-on-year, accumulating an increase of 47.2% from the previous December, when it recorded a 5.3% monthly increase and 90.4% year-on-year.

On average, Argentine workers earn US$ 440 monthly. Salaries range from US$ 200 (lowest on average) to US$ 2,000 (highest on average, although the real maximum salary is higher).