Overview
- An analysis of INDEC’s Q4 2025 household survey found 13.5 million people employed across 32 urban areas, with 71.5% on payroll and 24.7% working for themselves.
- Year over year, total employment fell 0.7% as salaried jobs dropped 1.8% (-174,719) and self-employment rose 3.2% (+105,016), producing a net loss of 93,101 positions.
- The salaried-informality rate reached 36.3% in 2025, meaning more than one in three employees lacked pension contributions or health coverage, with Gran San Juan above 54% and Concordia at 50%.
- The shift is uneven by region, with self-employment highest in Formosa (34%), San Nicolás–Villa Constitución (30.9%) and Mar del Plata (30.7%), and lowest in Ushuaia–Río Grande (13.4%) and Río Gallegos (14.2%).
- Survey results and payroll registries differ because they measure different areas, as seen in Neuquén where oil activity outside the capital lifts registered jobs even as the urban survey shows a drop, and in Santa Cruz where YPF’s exit in interior zones undercuts gains in the capital.