Unemployment reached 9.7% in third quarter of 2019

The unemployment rate in Argentina for the third quarter of 2019 was 9.7 percent, a slight drop on the previous quarter.

However, the figure remains up from the 9 percent registered during the same period last year, according to new data from the INDEC national statistics bureau.

In spite of the recession that's plagued Argentina for 18 months, joblessness showed a slight recuperation from the 10.6 percent the previous quarter.

Underemployment was 12.8 percent during the third quarter, one point higher than last year's stat but still slightly lower than the second quarter of 2019. This measure includes people who work but haven't been able to secure full-time positions or cobble together multiple jobs to qualify as fully employed.

Buenos Aires's incredibly poor surroundings continues to be hit hard. The unemployment rate is 12.1 percent in Greater Buenos Aires. Over 10 million people live in Buenos Aires Province, out of the nationwide population of 44 million. The capital, on the other hand, had an unemployment rate of only 7.9 percent.

It remains to be seen how the economic recovery bill currently being debated in Congress will impact the data. It includes measures like a 30 percent tax on foreign purchases and the freezing of public service rates for 180 days.

--AFP