Registered private employment fell 0.1% in May; hiring expectations hit two-year low

Argentina's formal private sector employment showed renewed signs of weakness in May, contracting by 0.1% from the previous month. The data, compiled by the Secretariat of Labor, Employment, and Social Security's Survey of Labor Indicators (EIL), revealed a monthly decline in personnel across establishments with more than ten employees.

On an annual basis, the figures indicate a 1.1% drop in employment when compared to May 2025. The EIL report highlighted a simultaneous decrease in both worker incorporations and separations, with both rates falling by the same magnitude. This persistent negative gap between employee entries and exits maintained a contractionary net balance in the private sector's payrolls.

The report also noted that the rate of dismissals without cause stood at 0.6 per 100 registered workers in May. While this figure represents a slight improvement from the prior measurement and remains below the annual average, the study acknowledges a persistently upward trend in unjustified dismissals each May since 2021.

Furthermore, hiring expectations for the upcoming quarter have hit a two-year low, with net expectations at just 0.1%. This indicates a cautious outlook among businesses, as 94.3% of surveyed companies do not plan to alter their current staffing levels. Only a small fraction, 2.9%, anticipate hiring new workers, while 2.8% expect to reduce their workforce.