Argentina’s gross domestic product shrank by 5.1% compared to the same period last year, while unemployment climbed to 7.7% in the first quarter of 2024, according to reports by the National Institute for Statistics and Census (INDEC) released on Monday. 

The report on Argentina’s GDP highlighted that “gross fixed capital formation” — a category grouping large investments like construction and large machinery known as CAPEX — plummeted by 23.4% year-on-year: it currently sits at –12.6 % while it was 2.5% in the first quarter of 2023.

Both private and public consumption showed decreases of 2.6% and 0.8% respectively. In terms of interannual comparisons, construction (–19.7%) and industrial manufacturing (–13.7%) sectors were the most affected, according to the study.

Meanwhile, the 7.7% unemployment rate is higher than in the first quarter of 2023 (6.9%). The indicator had decreased throughout the year and was 5.7% in the third and fourth quarters — jumping by two points at the start of 2024.

The INDEC measures unemployment by surveying a cross-section of urban centers — 29.6 million people — and measures the percentage of unemployed people actively looking for a job compared to the total economically active population (14.2 million). According to Monday’s report, women faced more unemployment (8.4%) than men (7%) while 27% of employed Argentines are “over-employed,” working more than 45 hours per week.

These latest reports from the INDEC come after the country saw key financial indicators showing signs of unrest earlier in June, with increased parallel U.S. dollar exchange rates and the emerging market bond index. 

The country is currently in a recession. A May report from the statistics bureau INDEC indicated that March economic activity fell by 8.4% year-on-year and 1.4% from February. Activity has fallen for six straight months and was previously flat between August and September. This confirms the economy has shrunk for two consecutive quarters, meeting the technical definition of a recession.

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