The Milei administration has been asserting for several months that the purchasing power of Argentines is on the mend following the significant fiscal adjustment of 2024 — even going so far as to claim it has already exceeded the levels observed during Alberto Fernández’s presidency. That assertion relies on a particular metric: the registered private-sector wage index, which is derived from data gathered by the human capital ministry. In contrast to the wage figure reported by the statistics institute INDEC, this indicator employs an alternative methodology, incorporating overtime, awards, and bonuses received by salaried workers.
In recent days, the decline of the indicator has placed the government in a precarious position: following 20 consecutive months above the November 2023 benchmark — the month preceding Milei’s rise to power — the average wage in June was recorded at 0.6% lower than the level observed nearly three years prior. In June, the average wage in the private sector experienced a decline of 0.9% on a monthly basis. In May, it experienced a contraction of 2.9%. The report, issued by the human capital ministry’s labour secretariat, elucidated that the decline in real wages over the past two months was attributable to the fact that wage growth has decelerated at a rate surpassing that of inflation. It also explained that the average monthly pace of wage growth in the first four months of 2026 was 2.1%. Average growth in April and May was merely 1%.
The centre-left think tank Instituto Argentina Grande utilised data from the human capital ministry to analyse the two scenarios and illustrate the deterioration of salaries. According to its calculations, the average wage of a private-sector worker in April 2026 experienced a decline of 4.3% in purchasing power relative to the average for the entirety of 2023. The decline in purchasing power becomes significantly more pronounced when one considers disposable income subsequent to the payment of utilities. In that scenario, the decline expands to 9.7%. IAG estimated that, since the change in administration, the impact of a basket of utilities on wages increased from less than 5% in 2023 to 12.6% in July 2026. The figures are significant, considering that the decline in wages is among the most pressing issues on the public agenda. A recent survey revealed that 66% of Argentines exhaust their financial resources by or before the 20th day of the month.
In the lead-up to payday, approximately 62% sought a loan in the last six months to manage their expenses. Of that total, over 53% incurred debt due to their income not being sufficient to meet basic expenses. Another 23% did so due to increases in utility and public service costs. Nearly half of borrowers are experiencing difficulties in repaying their loans: approximately 29% report significant challenges, while 12% have already missed a payment. An additional 6.4% acknowledge their inability to make any payments. Nearly 87% of respondents in a Zentrix survey indicated that securing two or more jobs is necessary to cover their expenses.
