In the final quarter of 2025, Argentina experienced an increase in unemployment, reaching 7.5%. The figure stands at 1.1 percentage points above the corresponding period of 2024 and nearly 2 points higher than late 2023, according to a recent report from Argentina’s statistics institute INDEC. The figure stands in stark contrast to the growth of economic activity and GDP, which is projected to have risen by 4.4% in 2025, as per INDEC data. Analysts indicate that this phenomenon can be attributed to a growing cohort of individuals seeking employment to compensate for inadequate earnings. The most recent report from INDEC indicates a rise in informal employment opportunities.
Unemployment has attained its peak level for the fourth quarter of a year since the onset of the pandemic. “For the first time in 20 years, the GDP has increased while unemployment has also gone up,” stated economist. Currently, there are 1.7 million individuals classified as unemployed, reflecting an increase of 230,000 compared to the figures recorded in late 2024. The activity rate, reflecting the proportion of economically active individuals, increased by nearly 3 percentage points to 48.6%. In contrast, the employment rate, which indicates the percentage of individuals with jobs relative to the total population, fell by almost 1 point to 45%.
In the last quarter of 2025, informal work increased from 42% to 43%, whereas registered jobs experienced a decline of nearly one percentage point, settling at 56.9%. “Unemployment is at its highest level in four years; job growth in absolute terms is not keeping pace with population growth (which is why the employment rate is falling); and the composition of the labor market is shifting, as reflected in a gradual but persistent rise in the rate of informal employment,” stated Daniel Schteingart. Macroeconomist Federico Pastrana, director of consultant agency C-P, states, “almost no sector has created jobs, and if they did, they did so sporadically.”
According to Pastrana, self-employment did not rise in response to the decline in registered jobs, as observed in previous years, indicating that the jobs lost have contributed to the growing unemployment rate. The rise in unemployment was more pronounced in the regions adjacent to Buenos Aires City, with a notable increase of approximately 3% among the youth demographic aged 14 to 29. This group tends to occupy more precarious positions and earn lower wages compared to other age cohorts. “The safety nets against unemployment are beginning to run out,” Pastrana issued a warning.