MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina: Indec finds unemployment on the rise

The lagging dollar has economic activities stagnating. Milei desperately needs a new loan from the IMF to boost the economy

Unemployment in Argentina in the last quarter of 2024 rose to 6.4%, up 0.7 points from 5.7% in Q4 2023, but down 0.5 points from Q3 2024 (6.9%), the National Institute of Statistics and Census (Indec) said in a report released Thursday. Joblessness was higher in the Greater Buenos Aires area (7.1%) and lower in Patagonia (4%) while more women (6.9%) than men (6.1%) were going through that plight.

In addition, 72.5% of the unemployed have been jobless for less than a year, and 27.6% even longer. Labor market pressure (unemployed, underemployed, and job seekers) rose to 29.4%, up 2 points year-on-year. Nationwide, an estimated 1.47 million people are unemployed, 180,000 more than a year ago.

In Feb. 2025, hotel occupancy dropped 0.2% year-on-year, with 1.97 million travelers, as foreign tourists have been discouraged from visiting given the appreciation of the local peso against the US dollar, making local prices too high by international standards. Resident travelers increased by 4.6%, while non-residents fell by 14.7%, the Indec found. Overnight stays totaled 5.6 million, down 1.2% year-on-year; residents rose 2.9%, and non-residents dropped 17.3%.

Buenos Aires province led with 27.8% of overnight stays, followed by Patagonia (22.6%). Average hotel stays lasted 2.8 nights, with parahotel reaching 3.4 nights. The country's top destinations are Mar del Plata (Province of Buenos Aires), San Carlos de Bariloche (Province of Río Negro), and Villa Carlos Paz (Province of Córdoba).

While the Libertarian Government of President Javier Milei has managed to curb inflation, from 211% in 2023 to 117% in 2024, a lagging dollar has economic activity stagnating as the Central Bank (BCRA) reserves kept dropping following interventions to keep the US currency from rising. The government seeks an IMF loan by mid-April to bolster reserves amid crawling peg uncertainties and rising dollar demand.

Of the 29.8 million people living in urban Argentina, 14.5 million make up the economically active population (EAP), of which 13.6 million are employed and almost one million are unemployed but actively seeking a job. When sorted out by workers' educational level, 71.2% of the unemployed have completed high school while only 28.9% have attended college regardless of whether they have graduated.