Argentines worse off under Millais regime, study finds — MercoPress

Argentines were worse off under Milley, study finds

In Argentina, having a job doesn’t mean you can escape poverty

Research published this week confirms that under President Javier Milei, Argentines have become worse off, with people falling into poverty despite having formal jobs, as evidenced by a reduction in consumption of foods such as red meat, a category in which the country once ranked first in the world.

The RA Center of the Faculty of Economics of the University of Buenos Aires found that at least 35% of the employed population are poor, by analyzing employment, activity and income data provided by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (Indec) for the first quarter of 2024. The study found that the unemployment rate increased by 32.4% between the fourth quarter of 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, which means that about 1,088,000 people are unemployed.

The worst part, however, is the realization that many people who have jobs are still poor. By the end of 2023, 34.9% of the employed population were already below the poverty line, a figure that is rising due to the increase in the total amount of the basic food basket. The analysis shows that this trend has been going on for years but has deteriorated sharply in the last semester, as incomes have fallen by an average of 40% since 2017, but have only fallen by 14% in the last six months.

Argentina’s current employment rate is similar to that at the end of the COVID-19 lockdown (Q3 2021), but instead of showing positive signs, unemployment continues to grow as the country’s economic activity moves towards a complete recession. The group of unemployed people consists of all those who have a job and are actively looking for one. The construction sector accounts for 42.7% of the unemployed, followed by the production sector, followed by business, financial and real estate services.

Another survey found that Argentina’s red meat consumption, especially grilled meat, is approaching historic lows, with per capita beef consumption expected to be 45 kilograms this year, compared with 73 kilograms in the past, according to data from the Rosario Stock Exchange.

Despite this, Argentina still has one of the highest per capita consumption levels, with intake almost matching that of Uruguay and well ahead of the United States (38 kg), Australia (27 kg) and Chile (26 kg).

Currently, this trend is “exacerbated by the fact that the Argentine economy is experiencing a recession, and many consumers are turning to chicken and pork as these are cheaper alternatives”, a report from the Rosario Stock Exchange pointed out. In this case, by 2024, the total per capita consumption of beef, poultry and pork in Argentina may be about 105.7 kg, a decrease of 9% from 2023 and the lowest consumption since 2011. The report also emphasized that this is also the first time in history that by 2024, the average Argentine resident will consume the same amount of beef as poultry (about 44.5 kg).