Starting in May, real earnings have experienced a steady increase due to the gradual decrease in inflation, reaching a 6.7% rise in October compared to November 2023. During that period, retirees receiving the minimum pension and bonus faced their worst relative situation in February but saw a peak in their real income in June 2024. In contrast, public employees are experiencing the most loss in purchasing power in recent months, with a 16% decrease in their real income in September compared to November 2023.
Despite the inflation rate falling to 2.7% in October, families still face great difficulties making ends meet. The increase in services is higher than the cost of living, with significant increases in rates for gas, electricity, water, and prepaid services. In October, while the general inflation was 2.7%, expenses on housing, water, electricity, gas, health, and education grew at a faster pace, leading many households to cancel services and rely on public healthcare with budget limitations.
The accumulated general CPI reaches 107% so far this year, with sharper increases in categories such as housing (216.6%), health services (108.4%), transportation (124.9%), and communications (168.5%). The burden of services on the family budget has increased significantly according to the UBA-Conicet Observatory on Tariffs and Subsidies, showing that spending on public services now represents 12.2% of income compared to 5.9% in December 2023.
In this context, the cost of the total basket has increased by 369% since December 2023, mainly due to updates in transportation, electricity, natural gas, and water rates. Despite this, items like food and beverages have shown lower inflationary pressure, with a 1.2% increase in October, below the overall average.
The decline in real income has been reflected in wages, with a year-on-year growth of 209.0% in September. However, when considering the real year-on-year variation in wages, there is a decrease in the public sector (-19.2%), registered private sector (-3.7%), and unregistered private sector (-5.6%). Specialists attribute this phenomenon partly to the devaluation in December 2023, which exacerbated the loss of purchasing power, especially among retirees whose incomes were reduced by 64.2% in February 2024 compared to 2017, registering a 22% drop that month.
