MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Orsi’s first year in power: unemployment and crime fall, wages edge up, growth moderate in Uruguay

Ahead of the parliamentary address, Orsi marked the anniversary of his inauguration with a unity-themed message on social media: “Uruguay is not just a country: it is a way of being”

Uruguay’s President Yamandú Orsi is set to address the General Assembly on Monday to deliver a first-year account of his administration and outline priorities for the year ahead. Parliament scheduled the session for 18:30 at the Legislative Palace in Montevideo.

Wages, inflation and household income

The latest releases from Uruguay’s National Statistics Institute (INE) show the Average Wage Index (IMS) rose 5.24% year-on-year as of January 2026, while 12-month consumer inflation stood at 3.46%, leaving a positive real adjustment. In real terms, wages were up 1.72% in January compared with the same month a year earlier, according to reporting based on the INE release.

On household income, INE reported average household income of UYU 93,495 in the fourth quarter of 2025, with average per-capita income at UYU 33,108. Reports drawing on the same release described a year-on-year nominal increase versus the final quarter of 2024.

Employment and pressure over corporate closures

In the labour market, INE’s December 2025 bulletin put the unemployment rate at 7.0%. Coverage of the bulletin said unemployment in 2025 was lower than in 2024—down 0.4 percentage points—while employment and participation moved only slightly.

At the same time, the government faces political scrutiny over business closures and restructurings. National Party lawmakers requested that Labour Minister Juan Castillo and Industry Minister Fernanda Cardona appear before Parliament to explain causes and mitigation measures tied to recent job losses.

Growth: latest GDP reading and official forecasts

On output, the most recent quarterly national accounts report available for July–September 2025 showed GDP up 1.2% year-on-year, while contracting 0.2% versus the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to coverage of the central bank release.

In late February, the Economy Ministry said it is maintaining the 2.2% growth forecast for 2026 set out in the budget law. In the same briefing, Economy Minister Gabriel Oddone said the 2025 fiscal outcome matched what had been projected “exactly,” while Deputy Minister Martín Vallcorba reaffirmed that budget projections remain in place for now.

Poverty and extreme poverty

On social indicators, INE estimated that in the first half of 2025 poverty affected 13.9% of households and 17.7% of individuals nationwide. Extreme poverty stood at 1.4% of households and 1.8% of people, according to the official release.

Crime: overall decline with exceptions

On public security, the Interior Ministry’s statistics unit reported an overall 4.7% fall in crime complaints in 2025 compared with 2024. Homicides fell to 369 from 382, robbery complaints dropped 10.5%, theft fell 8.3%, fraud complaints declined 16.7%, and kidnappings fell from 15 cases in 2024 to seven in 2025. Domestic violence reports and livestock theft moved higher.

Political message

Ahead of the parliamentary address, Orsi marked the anniversary of his inauguration with a unity-themed message on social media: “Uruguay is not just a country: it is a way of being. Caring for it is my deepest duty,” he wrote, adding that his administration would keep building “day by day” an Uruguay that “includes us all.”

Un año de gobierno.
Uruguay no es solo un país: es una forma de ser. Cuidarlo es mi deber más profundo.
Y mientras el mundo cambia y se agita, nosotros seguiremos construyendo, día a día, este Uruguay tranquilo que nos incluya a todos. pic.twitter.com/WjsyIXSTlq

— Yamandú Orsi (@OrsiYamandu) March 1, 2026