According to a private report, 200.000 young women entered labour inactivity in Argentina. The study shows the decay of private employment in the country.  

According to a report developed by the Argentinian Institute for Social Development (IDESA) “the labour deterioration cannot be explained by the growth of unemployment but by the rise of inactivity”.

The entity responded to a report developed by the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INDEC, a government body), that stated that during the second quarter of 2015 the unemployment rate was 6.6% among the working population.

“This moderate unemployment level is not sustained on the creation of employment, but on the fall of the activity or participation on the workforce rate”, said IDESA.

The report states that between 2011 and 2015, the working population went from 46.6% to 44.5%.

“This points out that the labour market’s adjustment is not about the rise of unemployment but about people who stop looking for a job”.

“The phenomenon affects women with greater intensity, particularly young women with low levels of education. The use of antique labour institutions and poorly designed and managed assistance programs has important social costs and leads to gender discrimination”, said spokespersons from IDESA.

The situation is different for men aged between 30 and 64 years old. They have not been affected by the drop of labour activity and keep on having a participation rate of 93%.

“Young men, aged from 15 to 29 years old, have suffered a drop from 60% to 54%”.

Women aged between 15 to 29 years old experienced a reduction of the participation on the workforce rate that went from 42% to 36%.

“This data shows that the growth of labour inactivity is strongly focused on young people and on women, particularly on young women. The downfall of the activity rate among women younger than 29 years old between 2011 and 2015 equals almost 200 thousand youngsters who stopped looking for a job”.

According to IDESA barely 1 out of 3 young women participate in the labour market

“The deterioration of the labour market is associated to the obsolescence of the labour institutions. High labour taxes, bureaucracy, proceedings and rules that deteriorate productivity are some of the reasons that explain the reluctance of companies to create new jobs.”

“The lack of working opportunities leads vulnerable segments –women, because they are forced to fulfill domestic chores, and young people, because they lack training and working experience-, to suffer the greatest difficulties. Therefore, their labour participation is low a decreasing.”

IDESA mentioned that “even before the adjustment transformed into more labour inactivity, the labour market lacked solid basis. Between 2003 and 2008 there was a significant rise of formal employment, but based on the reduction of labour costs caused by the mega-devaluation of 2002 and the rise of exportations’ prices.”

“When real wages recovered prior levels and the exchange terms stopped growing, employment became lethargic. The insufficiency did not result on more unemployment, but on a rise of labour inactivity, supported by the primitive design of social allowances, which encourage women to withdraw from the labour market.”

The report states that “denying labour opportunities to a growing number of women is very expensive in social terms. It implies enhancing the dependence on the adult male at home and/or on social welfare.”

The social impact may be even more serious. The report states that “the chances of households’ progress are cut and the risks of family disruption, gender violence and patronage system grow. Clearly, the problem cannot be solved with another devaluation, but through the modernization of labour institutions, and by re-designing social allowances and fighting the cultural beliefs that underestimate women’s capacities”.