Overview
- SIPA's August 2026 report showed private registered salaried employment fell 0.1% from July, a loss of about 7,573 jobs and the 15th straight monthly decline.
- Manufacturing led the contraction with a 4.4% year‑on‑year drop, roughly 50,700 jobs lost in the past year and nearly 100,000 fewer jobs since its 2023 peak.
- The government's RIFL hiring incentive covered about 82,000 new hires between May and August 2026 but the private register still posted a net loss of roughly 37,800 jobs in that period, indicating the policy has not yet offset job destruction.
- Registrations under the Monotributo surged—about 19,000 new enrollees in August and 73,100 year‑on‑year—reflecting growth in self‑employment and informal work that does not restore salaried job quality or social protections.
- The decline is uneven across provinces with only a few districts above November 2023 employment levels and falling real wages—median pay down about 4.2% since March 2025—which cuts household purchasing power and further reduces firms' capacity to expand payrolls.