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Argentina’s Jobless Rate Drops to 6.6% in Q3 as Hiring Shifts to Informal Work

Analysts attribute the decline to growth in informal self-employment rather than a rebound in formal payrolls.

Overview

  • INDEC’s household survey shows activity at 48.6% and employment at 45.4%, with about 14.6 million in the labor force, 13.6 million employed and roughly 958,000 unemployed across 31 urban areas.
  • Job composition deteriorated as informality rose to 43.3%, the share of salaried workers fell to 71.9% and self-employment increased to 24.5%.
  • Other indicators point to strain, with 28.2% of workers clocking more than 45 hours weekly and overall labor-market pressure easing to 28.7%.
  • Unemployment varied widely by location, reaching 10.8% in Río Gallegos, 8.9% in Gran Rosario and 8.1% in Gran La Plata, versus lower rates in Patagonia (5.0%) and the Noroeste (4.7%).
  • Officials hailed the headline improvement and the government projected poverty at 27.5% for Q3 via CNCPS estimates, while labor reform discussions were left open for changes into early 2026.