Wages, one of the main victims of Milei’s economic plan
Average private-sector salaries in June fellow below what they were in November 2023, the last month before the government took office La entrada Wages, one of the main victims of Milei’s economic plan se publicó primero en Buenos Aires Herald .
The Milei administration has been touting a recovery in Argentines' purchasing power following the fiscal adjustments of 2024, even suggesting it has surpassed pre-2024 levels. This argument is built upon the registered private-sector wage index, a metric from the human capital ministry that includes overtime, awards, and bonuses.
However, recent data shows this indicator has dropped, with the average wage in June falling 0.6% below its level from November 2023, and a 0.9% decrease in June compared to the previous month. The human capital ministry attributes this decline to slowing wage growth outpacing inflation, with average wage growth in the first four months of 2026 at 2.1%, compared to just 1% in April and May.
A recent analysis by the center-left think tank Instituto Argentina Grande (IAG) reveals that the average private-sector worker's wage lost 4.3% of its purchasing power in April 2026 compared to all of 2023. When considering disposable income after utility payments, this drop expands to 9.7%. The IAG estimates that, since the change in administrations, the impact of utility costs on wages has surged from under 5% in 2023 to 12.6% in July 2026.
This wage decline exacerbates the financial struggles many Argentines face, with 66% running out of money before the month's end, leading many to take out loans or work additional jobs just to make ends meet.
Written by urgent.news from Buenos Aires Herald's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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- Wages, one of the main victims of Milei’s economic plan buenosairesherald.com
