In July 2025, the total number of formal public sector employees was 3.4 million, implying a decrease of 0.4% compared to July 2024 (-15,000 positions) and 1.7% compared to November 2023 (-58,000 jobs). Formal salaried employment in the private sector, on the other hand, stood at 6.24 million workers last July, representing a reduction of 8,800 positions (-0.1%). On a year-over-year basis, 7,000 jobs were lost (-1.5%), and compared to November 2023, the contraction was almost 21,000 jobs (-4%).
The document specified that "since the historical high of the series reached in October 2019, employment in private households has decreased by 11%, which is equivalent to almost 57,000 fewer workers," and noted that "formal employment in this sector is very similar to that observed 12 years ago." The provinces that experienced the largest increases were Santiago del Estero (+1.2%), Mendoza (+0.4%), San Juan (+0.2%), and Tucumán (+0.2%). In the case of formal employment in private households, the downward trend has been maintained since mid-2023, with a brief interruption at the beginning of 2025.
Compared to November 2023, the private sector lost 127,000 jobs (-2.0%). In the analysis by economic activity, it was observed that in July, 6 out of 13 sectors had negative variations in employment volume. Mining (-0.8%), Real Estate Services (-0.4%), Industry (-0.3%), and Personal Services (-0.3%) were the sectors with the largest percentage job losses. Agriculture and Fishing was the only sector with a positive variation (+0.2%), and the other sectors: Construction, Transportation, Education, Health, Commerce, and Electricity, Gas, and Water Supply showed no significant variations.
In the breakdown by province, employment decreased in 16 provinces and increased in only 5 in July.
Formal salaried employment has accumulated 205,000 losses so far in Javier Milei's administration since December 2023, according to a report by the Employment, Distribution, and Labor Institutions Area (EDIL) of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (IIEP).
The report stated that "total formal salaried employment in July 2025 represented a loss of 14,000 jobs (-0.1%) compared to July 2024 and a loss of 205,000 jobs (-2.0%) compared to November 2023." With this scenario, it revealed that "the total number of formal workers as of this July reached a new low since the contraction observed from the end of 2023" and warned that "since Milei took office, a strong reduction in total formal salaried employment is observed during the first half of 2024, followed by a subsequent stagnation."
The report specified that in July 2025, the number of salaried workers registered with the social security system reached 10,096,000, covering employment in the private sector, the public sector, and private households. Regarding formal salaried employment in the public sector, a downward trend has been evident since the end of 2023, although it remained practically unchanged in July 2025. The largest percentage decreases occurred in Chubut (-1.2%), Santa Cruz (-1.2%), and Tierra del Fuego (-0.8%).
