X-ray of informal work: how many unregistered workers are there in Argentina

With 43.3% in the first quarter of this year, the employed population compared to the total population (the employment rate) passed previous levels pandemic and quarantine, and reached record levels.

But even in that frame, unregistered employment increased: 35.9% of employees work “No discount on board”surpassing 35% in the first quarter of 2019, according to INDEC data released on Thursday.

If these indices of the 31 agglomerations of the EPH (Permanent Household Survey) are projected on the whole country it would seem that the employed amount to 20.4 million: 12.5 million members – such as salaried, mono-tax payers, private house staff and self-employed workers – are 12.5 million, with whom 7.9 million not registered. And 1.5 million unemployed.

Of the nearly 8 million informal jobs, 5 million are paid (entirely from the private sector) and nearly 3 million self-employed and professional workers.

The INDEC Report shows that the decrease in unemployment (from 10.2 to 7%) in the last 12 months and the increase in employment indicate that the negative rates of the pandemic and quarantine have been exceeded, and which to a greater extent affected the informal sectorsboth employees and self-employed.

You have to remember that subordinate work was further protected by the prohibition of dismissal and the “double remuneration”while much of the not registered could not carry out any activity and were partially assisted by the IFE (Emergency Family Income)

With the more normalized activity what happened it was a “recovery” of informal, more precarious work, without security rights. It is so just over 80% of the highest employment in the last 12 months corresponds to the informal sector.

Taking into account the urban population and with the data of the fourth quarter of 2021, the INDEC reported it four out of 10 employees in the private sector are not registered. There are almost 5 million (41.4%) out of a total of 12,030,000 subscribers.

In 4 activities there are more unregistered than registered: Staff of Private Homes (66.5%), agriculture (66.2%), construction (55.9%) and Hotels-Restaurants (50.4%).

These are official figures that mark the strong progress of the precariousness and impoverishment of the workforce. Y together with the deterioration of wages, the share of wages for wage labor has decreased in the value of production.

The businesses with the highest informality records at the end of 12021 are domestic staff (1,006,000 jobs), construction (494,000), agriculture (659,000), commerce (777,000) and industry (562,000).

The unregistered are without social security, have no coverage for accidents at work and are not entitled to retirement and pension benefits Social security, and the proportion of men and women is so high that at the end of their active life they do not reach 30 years of contributions to be able to retire.

This setback of work was accompanied by a deterioration in the participation of labor remuneration in the value of production: from representing at the end of 2016 the 51.8% of the “pie” fell to 43.1% in 2021. While the business sector went from 48 to 54.3%.

This reduction in the share of the “pie” in the value of production is explained by the drop in the wages of registered workers, especially between 2017/2019 and to a greater extent by the low wages of “non-registered” workers who, on average, charge for 50% less. And because of the decline in waged jobs in favor of self-employment

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