Argentina's federal payroll falls 6.1% to 266,205, INDEC says

INDEC said the national public administration, meaning ministries and agencies, employed 179,396 people at the end of September, 7.2% fewer than a year earlier. State-run companies and firms with state stakes employed 86,809, down 3.8%. The August count was 268,404, so September's loss was about 2,200 people. The yearly drop is about 17,000 jobs.

The statistics office said 13 state bodies, 12 state companies and one agency had not reported staff numbers, so it carried forward their last figures for 7,598 people, or 2.9% of the total. That adds uncertainty to the monthly figure.

Milei's payroll cuts

President Javier Milei came to office in December 2023 promising to shrink the state and cut the budget deficit. An article on johnmenadue.com reported that he halved the number of ministries to nine, froze public works, fired 51,218 federal employees and cut 23,000 jobs at state companies. LatinAmerican Post reported 56,000 public-employee dismissals without a breakdown. The reports give different totals.

Budget and IMF review

Congress approved the 2026 budget, the first passed by Congress under Milei, with spending of $102 billion and a zero deficit target reached mostly through cuts. The government had previously extended the 2023 budget without passing a bill, DW reported. The budget projected 5% growth. Economists expect 2.7% growth, and a central bank survey in early August landed on the same number, well short of the budget assumption, Latin Times reported.

IMF staff and Argentina reached a staff-level agreement on the third review of the four-year loan programme on 27 October 2026, covering about US$900 million. The deal keeps a 2026 primary surplus target at 1.4% of output. The IMF executive board is due to consider it in early December. Staff-level agreements are not final until the board votes.

Jobs and informality

INDEC put second-quarter unemployment at 7.9%, compared with 7.6% a year earlier, a change it calls statistically insignificant. It counted about 1.2 million jobless people across the 31 urban areas it surveys between April and June. In the interior cities outside Greater Buenos Aires, unemployment rose 1.3 points in a year to 7.6%, a move INDEC calls statistically significant. The interior rate was still below Greater Buenos Aires at 8.2%.

Informal work, where no pension contributions are paid, made up 45.0% of employment, 1.0 point more than a year earlier, INDEC's survey showed. About 13.6 million people had a job in INDEC's count.

INDEC draws no link between the federal payroll and the jobless rate. Provincial and city governments are not in the federal count, and private firms also shape the survey.

Inflation and poverty

LatinAmerican Post reported that annual inflation had fallen to 31%, which it said was the lowest since 2018, from 211% when Milei entered office. The article did not give a measurement date for the 31% figure. Latin Times reported annual inflation at 33.8% in July, up from 33.5% in June, and said the central bank expects the year to close near 29.8%. An article on johnmenadue.com described inflation falling from roughly 250% to 30% without giving a date.

On poverty, LatinAmerican Post cited the Catholic University of Argentina's estimate of 36%, which it said was the lowest since 2018. The John Menadue article reported urban poverty at 32.3% by early 2026. The reports give different estimates.

What to watch

INDEC publishes October inflation on 12 November 2026, with a financial-data calendar forecasting 2.2% after 1.9% in September. It lists the October federal headcount for 30 November 2026 and the July to September jobs survey for 18 December 2026, when a financial-data calendar forecasts 7.8%. The IMF board decision is due in early December.