A sharp rise in new benefit claims
Official figures show that 145,004 registered workers dismissed without just cause began receiving the Social Security Unemployment Benefit between January and September 2026. That is 29.4% more than the 112,056 new claims recorded in the same period of 2025. The data reflects workers who started collecting the payment and does not by itself equal the total number of dismissals in the country.[S1][S2]
Industry generated the largest share of new claims, with 35,922, followed by commerce at 32,928 and construction at 21,663. Together these three activities accounted for most of the entries into the system, in a context of difficulty sustaining formal employment.[S1][S2]
Benefit value falls behind inflation
After subtracting those who found work or exhausted their coverage period, 127,613 people collected the benefit in September. The average amount reached $325,368, compared with $274,324 in the same month of 2025, an interannual increase of 18.7%. The adjustment remained below the 33.4% inflation recorded over the same period, so the income lost purchasing power.[S1][S2]
Among September recipients, 86,288 were men and 41,325 were women. Geographically, the province of Buenos Aires concentrated 54,936 beneficiaries, followed by Santa Fe with 9,698, Córdoba with 9,658 and the City of Buenos Aires with 9,029.[S1][S2]
Claims accumulate under the Milei administration
Adding the new claims of 2024, 2025 and the first nine months of 2026 gives a total of 473,186 benefits: 174,335 in 2024, 153,847 in 2025 and 145,004 so far this year. For reference, 108,942 new claims were registered in 2023 and 86,268 in 2022. The figures cover periods of different length, and the 2026 number does not yet include the final three months of the year.[S1][S2]
The benefit is aimed at dependent workers covered by the relevant rules who lose their job for reasons beyond their control, such as dismissal without just cause or the end of a contract. Generally, at least six months of contributions during the three years before separation are required, with specific conditions for temporary and seasonal workers. Payment runs for up to 12 months and can extend by six more for people over 45, on a declining scale: 100% for the first four months, 80% from the fifth to the eighth and 70% from the ninth to the twelfth. Recipients keep health coverage, family allowances and the computation of the period toward retirement.[S1][S2]
Unemployment and informality at multi-year highs
Unemployment rose to 7.9% in the second quarter of 2026 and informality jumped to 45%, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INDEC). It is the highest jobless level in five years, since 2021, when Argentina was emerging from the Covid pandemic, while the indicator of precarious workers stands at a maximum for the series that began in 2023. The number of unemployed people rose to 1.8 million, according to an Ámbito calculation based on official data.[S1]
Informality climbed from 43.2% to 45% over the past year, while formal employment fell from 56.6% to 54.9%. Informality thus reached 10.2 million people, while the remaining 12.5 million workers are in formal conditions. Sociologist Daniel Schteingart of Fundar explained that the near two-point rise stems from falling formal employment and rising informal work, adding that female self-employment is growing most within the informal segment. Hernán Herrera of the Instituto Argentina Grande highlighted that informality among self-employed workers reaches 65.8%, linking it to the loss of registered jobs and the shift toward more precarious work arrangements.[S1]
Amid a sharp fall in wages, job-seeking employed people stand at levels similar to 2025 and the pandemic year of 2021, around 16.9%. Among regions with the highest unemployment, the Pampeana region stands out with 9.7% of its population out of work, with the highest rate in Greater Rosario at 11.5% and Greater Córdoba at 10.5%. Greater Buenos Aires follows at 8.2%; within it, the conurbano districts show 8.8% unemployment and the City of Buenos Aires 5.6%.[S1]
