A University of Buenos Aires report reveals that nearly 70% of young people aged 16 to 24 work informally in Argentina. Factors such as lack of education and poverty drive this situation, which particularly affects young men. Meanwhile, the overall unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in the third quarter of 2025.
The report coordinated by Roxana Maurizio and Luis Beccaria from the Employment, Distribution and Labor Institutions Area (EDIL) of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Political Economy (IIEP) at the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Economic Sciences indicates that in the second quarter of 2025, the labor informality rate among 16- to 24-year-olds reached 67%, equivalent to nearly seven out of ten workers in that age group.
Overall informality in Argentina's labor market stood at 43.3% during the third quarter of 2025, according to the Permanent Household Survey (EPH) from INDEC. This rate is lower in older age groups: 34.6% for ages 45 to 64, 42.9% for 25 to 44, and 53.1% for those over 65. By gender, women show higher rates in most groups, except youth, where men register 67.3%.
Education level significantly influences outcomes: only 17.8% of university-educated workers are informal, compared to 43% with intermediate education and 65.1% without completed secondary school. This means those with lower education have four times the likelihood of informal jobs.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in the third quarter of 2025, from 6.9% the previous year, with a 1.8% increase in employed people and a 3.6% decrease in unemployed. Formal salaried employment remained stable. Modernization Minister Federico Sturzenegger hailed the data: “Very positive the employment data just published. 240,000 new jobs compared to a year ago, and unemployment rate down to 6.6%”.
Informality deprives workers of labor, tax, and social security rights, worsening poverty among youth.
