Argentina’s economic instability affects every sector yet it’s having a major impact in particular on employment prospects for young people, according to a new study.
Workers up to the age of 24 in Argentina earn the lowest salaries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Adecco consultancy firm said in a new report. Taking the US dollar as a reference point, a young professional working in this country earns a third of what they would pick up in Chile, half of what he would make in Peru and 35 percent less than what is paid in Mexico or Brazil.
The report sets the unemployment rate for youngsters born between 1997 and 2004 at 26 percent – more than double that of the current total population, which in the first quarter of 2021 stood at 10.2 percent.
“The youth remain trapped in a vicious circle when they start their job career – they are asked for experience but since nobody is giving them that first job, they find it difficult to acquire. Furthermore, informal employment is very important,” explained Carla Cantisani, Adecco’s Director for Services & Quality for Argentina and Uruguay.
Those who find work do so predominantly in office administrative tasks (23.5 percent), sales and marketing (20.3 percent), industry (14.1 percent percent), computer systems (four percent), hotels, catering and restaurants (three percent) and other sectors (32.3 percent), according to the report.
The survey indicated an important level of ignorance regarding government strategies to encourage youth employment. Some 52 percent of respondents said that they were unaware that such policies existed, while 40 percent directly denied their existence. Only 7.6 percent said that they knew about the implementation of these programmes.
Another striking feature of this report is that 81 percent of survey respondents expressed a desire to change their job while barely 19 percent indicated that they would like to continue doing the same work in the same place.
Furthermore, 74 percent believe that they could develop themselves better professionally if working for a foreign employer. Just over 25 percent consider that they would be better off growing professionally with a local boss.
Home office
Another aspect analysed in the report was the rise in ‘home office’ working amid the global coronavirus pandemic.
Of those consulted, 76.5 percent told Adecco that they believed remote employment offers better opportunities for younger workers, while 23.5 percent thought the contrary.
With regards to hours worked in this manner, 43.8 percent assured that they would work more hours while 40 percent expected no change and 15.4 percent admitted to dedicating less time to work.
In relation to their preferred form of work, 42 percent said they were inclined towards home office while 39 percent prefer to work on the job. Furthermore, 87.6 percent believe that home office offers better perspectives for being able to work abroad while 12.4 percent think not and 19 percent said that they had no experience of home office.
What young people most value about teleworking is the flexibility (42.3 percent), saving the costs of commuting (25.5 percent), the possibility of sharing more time with other persons living in their home (18.3 percent), more free time (9.6 percent) and other factors (4.2 percent).
What they least like is not having enough space to work (29.2 percent), lacking a sense of belonging to the company where they work (29 percent), missing their workmates (17.8 percent) and working more (15 percent).
Two-thirds (66.7 percent) indicated having all the tools necessary to be able to work from home, 19 percent said that they have some of those required while 14.3 percent directly lacked the tools for their tasks.
Looking at the new work scenario stemming from the pandemic, 36.8 percent would prefer to continue working from home, 24 percent would like to work on the job and 39.1 percent would be inclined towards a hybrid model combining both options.
– TIMES/NA
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