President Javier Milei, appearing publicly after nearly a 10‑day absence, delivered an expressive speech in which he dismissed concerns about rising unemployment, falling wages, and the reduction in the number of companies during his time in office.
“Let’s look at the clichés people repeat every day, such as ‘people can’t make ends meet’ or ‘technological progress is destroying jobs’?” he said with a mocking tone during the closing of the 26th Council of the Americas — an event that gathers high‑ranking business representatives. Milei stated that economic data contradict the criticism of his government and joked: “I don’t know if journalists hate data more than the ‘zurdos’ hate water,” using a derogatory term for leftists.
Unemployment and wages
Although unemployment has not risen sharply, in the first quarter of the year it stood at 7.8% — 0.3 percentage points higher than in the last quarter of 2024 and 2.1 percentage points above the level when Milei took office in December 2023. The number of unemployed reached 1.1 million people.
Meanwhile, informal employment increased by 2.2% year‑on‑year, indicating that some workers who lost their jobs were forced to seek work in more unstable conditions.
Milei claimed that “neither has unemployment increased, nor have wages decreased,” and defended the lower wages of public‑sector employees by saying that it means “paying less taxes.”
According to the statistical institute INDEC, wages in the private sector rose by 1.9% in June, matching the inflation rate recorded that month. However, they remain 3.6% below the level of November 2023 — the month before Milei took office.
Reduction in the number of companies
Milei also noted that “if companies are disappearing and many jobs are being lost, unemployment should be climbing sharply, yet that is not happening.”
“It is true that some firms vanish, but those are typically one‑person operations, while new businesses are opening that employ ten people,” he said. According to the president, “as some companies disappear, others appear, because economic conditions have shifted.”
The monthly report of the analytical centre Fundar shows that in May 2026 there were 30,633 fewer companies in Argentina than in November 2023. That loss is roughly comparable to the number of firms that disappeared during the COVID‑19 pandemic.
Inflation and social issues
During his speech, the president reaffirmed his commitment to reducing inflation and achieving economic growth. He said that “inflation has fallen by 85%“ and highlighted that wholesale inflation was 0.8% in July.
“I said that when inflation starts at zero, I will stage another musical show, so I’ll begin rehearsing,” he announced.
Critics note that Milei had previously assured that retail inflation would drop to 0 by now. In July, however, it was 2.1%, according to INDEC.
In another part of his speech, the libertarian leader blamed the legalization of abortion for the decline in birth rates in Argentina, even though this trend has been observed since 2014 — four years before the legalization of abortion in 2020.
“If one of the hallmarks of growth is capital profitability, what happens in the labour market and among the population matters just as much. In fact, we are paying dearly for the madness of the ‘green handkerchiefs,’” said Milei, referring to the symbol of the movement for abortion legalization in Argentina, also used in other Latin America countries.
The president added: “Today, population growth and birth rates in Argentina are insufficient to ensure replacement. Therefore, this obsession with killing children in the womb is also costing us dearly in terms of economic growth — not to mention the social security system.”
Source: Buenos Aires Herald
