The recession is wreaking havoc in Argentinaaccording to the report of the Catholic University “New poor, poorer and more unequal poor: A crisis that is coming to an end or a worse future to come?”
In that report, The study compares official data from the first quarter of this year with those from the fourth quarter of 2023, to analyze the socioeconomic changes of the last year, both positive and negative.
For example, the increases in social programs such as the AUH-TA are highlighted as positive, although it is clarified that these were not enough to compensate for the fall in real income, a consequence of inflation and the recession. Therefore, households dependent on social programs or informal jobs experienced the greatest deterioration in their economic well-being.
In addition, he revealed a Worrying outlook for growing poverty and inequality in Argentina. This highlighted the need for economic policies that promote an equitable distribution of income and an improvement in working conditions within all sectors.
Inequality in well-being and sources of income
That report noted that average per capita income reached $233,695 in the first quarter of 2024, compared with $255,247 in the previous quarter and $295,128 a year ago.
That is to say, The population lost on average 20% of its real purchasing power between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
Household incomes fell in real terms by between 30% and 15% compared to the same quarter of the previous year.
This is explained by the fact that labour income (as well as non-labour income) was insufficient to offset the increase in the basic basket, with the lowest sectors being the most affected.
In this regard, income inequality is what increased the most, placing the upper strata with an active participation in total income, while the lower strata lost it and moved away from the basic requirements for subsistence.
Precarization, impoverishment and inequality
The purchasing power of real average income decreased by 18.5% and the median by 26.7% in one year.
The greatest loss of income was observed among lower-income workers, so the concentration of income remained among higher-income workers.
At the same time, The average salary compensation went from $451,888 to $361,445, an effective drop of 20% in real terms between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024.
However, the unregistered employment rate decreased slightly from 35.8% to 34.9% between the first quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, the group of salaried workers in the first quintile (20% with the lowest incomes) registered job insecurity of up to 80%, while in the fifth quintile (20% with the highest incomes) it was equivalent to 8.5%.
Source: Ambito
