According to the last Boomeran Labor Market Indexthe leading employment portal in Latin America, so far in 2024, the required salary had a cumulative increase of 45.75%. This number is below the accumulated inflation of the same period, which is 51.6%.
“In the latest Labor Market Index we can see that The accumulated increase in the salary required by talent is 45.75% during the first quarter of 2024. Although this value exceeds those recorded in both the first and last quarters of 2023, it does not match the accumulated inflation of this year,” explains Carolina Molinaro, Head of Marketing at Jobint.
How much is the average salary?
In March, The average salary for supervisor and boss positions was $942,807 per month, with an increase of 18.58% compared to the previous month; in the semi-senior and senior categories it was 735,557 pesos per month, with an increase of 16.88%; and at junior levels it was $490,948 per monthwith an increase of 20.50%.
The highest accumulated increases in the average intended remunerations during the first quarter of 2024 at the semi-senior and senior levels are recorded in Others with 56.22%; Human Resources with 49.21%; Production, Supply and Logistics with 47.99%; Commercial with 47.68%; and Administration and Finance with 45.65%. All of these sectors have accumulated increases higher than the seniority average, which is 44.53%.
The intended salary is higher than in 2023
It is worth mentioning that The accumulated increase in the salary required in 2024 far exceeds that of the first quarter of 2023, which was 19.71% and also that of the last three months of the same year, which was 16.89%. But, Last year, only 24% of companies adjusted the equivalent of 100% of the consumer price index (CPI) in 2023., according to Carlos Contino, partner of CONA RH, and some that granted a one-time bonus or prize to get by. In short, each one “did what she could.”
Likewise, regarding workers’ expectations, there were also new developments. The average intended compensation It reached $706,426 in March, with an increase of 17.72% compared to February. In the first part of the year, the intended remuneration kept pace with inflation: in January, it was $510,935 per month and, in February, $600,105.
There is no unified criterion for salary adjustments
Contino indicates, however, that the trend of salary dispersion continues to occur this year, since in the first quarter of 2024, which has just ended, “There is still no generalized criterion for salary adjustmentssince the strong devaluation impact and price liberalization made the cost of living of Argentines more expensive” and anticipates that, only in this 2nd quarter will companies formally set their policies regarding 2024.
Thus, Contino stressed that The January-March quarter was very irregular: There was no general business criterion since the leading companies, which predominantly have formal policies in this regard, were the most impacted by the decline in their sales and consumers switched to second and third brands (some fourth brands) to sustain their income versus the new price reality.
“Specifically, this first quarter was an analysis with specific adjustments that were around 30%, when in reality The CPI was 36.6%, more than 11% in March which would give a CPI for the quarter of the order of almost 50%,” he details. And he anticipates that, the outlook indicates that “probably in the second quarter, if sales recover, companies can adjust something more but in parallel there will be headcount adjustments: it is not only happening in the state.”
The cases of the companies
In the case of SME companies, Alejandro Carrera, founder of Adiras, said that “the first thing is that they change the rate of increase in the income of their people to keep up with inflation based on the evolution of their businesses. But they haven’t done many other things: people don’t want to leave because there isn’t much work.” For the SME reference, “there are cases of companies where people ask for leave without pay and go to work anyway to generate savings for the company and they are paid the lost income due to the leave with a bonus afterwards. They have done this with personnel outside the agreement, to reduce costs and keep people.”
Patricio Navarro, director of people and culture at iFlow, admits that we are in a “difficult context of rampant inflation, so we must focus on soft variables with a focus on non-remunerative rewards, because these continue to be tied to economic variables. Example: that the company covers the expenses of the car, dining room, prepaid, bonuses. The problem for many medium-sized companies is to build loyalty with this type of compensation that is not necessarily sustainable, since it is tied to the ups and downs of the economy.”
In that sense, according to Navarro Pizzurno, it is advisable to “focus on soft variables. On the one hand, the climate management in emergency contexts where the components that promote anxiety, hopelessness, unpredictability. The closeness of leaders with their teams plays a key role. And, in turn, of the high-ranking managers with the middle managers, since these are the ones who ultimately manage the climate. There must be weekly or biweekly climate management.”
On the other hand, according to the expert, it is essential to “give the clearest possible visibility of the company’s context, especially to quell rumors that typically arise in times of crisis.” In the face of rumor, the worst possible reading usually emerges. “It is worse to give a bad forecast than uncertainty per se. It is key then to manage information on a relatively frequent basis so that people know where they stand,” he recommends.
Source: Ambito
