The unemployment rate is 14% in the city of Salto and is expected to rise to 20% by the end of the year, when the day laborers finish harvesting.
The exchange difference with Argentina is wreaking havoc on the Uruguayan border cities who struggle day by day with the drop in consumption in businesses, with 10 million dollars spent per month in the Entre Ríos city of Concord and unemployment in Salto del 14%, the economic scenario of the border does not look hopeful.
In an interview with the newspaper Diario Cambio de Salto, Rodolfo Germano, a member of “Salto en Movimiento”, a group made up of employees and merchants who are dedicated to discussing the current situation in the city, assured that Uruguayans spend between 9 and 10 million dollars per month in the Argentine city of Concordia. According to the member of the group, this scenario was made worse by the Argentine economic situation and the devaluation of its peso.
In that sense, he added that unemployment will also increase at the end of this year. “The unemployment rate is 14% since the orange harvest is currently in full swing, what is yielding and what they are occupying is impressive, there are many new hectares that were planted, so when the orange is finished, the blueberry begins and when September ends, all the day laborers will not have a job,” explained Germano, who added that by the end of the year an unemployment figure of 20% is estimated.
What do Uruguayans buy in Argentina?
Last week the monthly report was published “Consumption habits of Salteños on the border” of the Catholic University of Uruguay where he reported that 88% of the natives of the city of Salto have made purchases at the border. Of that percentage, 61% do it biweekly, while 18% do it monthly.
For its part, the report, which focused on the Argentine city of Concordia, states that 100% of the citizens of Salta who cross to the neighboring city of Entre Ríos tend to buy food and drinks. This is followed by 89% who use it to refill fuel and 80% spend their money on gastronomic services.
In turn, 45% spend it on tourism services, 27% on leisure, 28% usually buy cosmetics or personal hygiene products, and 25% clothes or accessories. Among the Salteños who shop once a month, more than half spend between 2,000 and 8,000 pesos (between 50 and 200 dollars, approximately).
An unemployment that grows in Salto
In mid-May the National Institute of Statistics (INE) published the data on activity, employment and unemployment corresponding to the moving quarter January-March 2023, where the city of Salto had the highest percentage.
The border city has 14.7% unemployment and 9,900 unemployed people during the reference period. During the previous moving quarter —December 2022 – February 2023— this figure was already 14.2%, the highest in the country.
Source: Ambito
