How are salaries in Argentina after the pandemic?

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – As every year, Adecco Argentina conducted a survey to provide updated data on the Argentine labor market, which serves as a reference both in terms of salaries and benefits for the remainder of the year and 2022.

As it usually happens, the highest salaries are paid in Patagonia (in some specific IT positions the region is sometimes surpassed by the Buenos Aires region and CABA) and the lowest salaries are paid in the NEA and NOA regions.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Argentina

WHAT IS THE CONTEXT OF WAGES IN 2021?

The race between wage adjustments and inflation is permanent, this is the most important indicator for companies to consider when negotiating adjustments. Argentina ranks 2nd in the region with the highest inflation numbers, after Venezuela.

In some cases, inflation is not the only indicator taken by companies, merit also comes into play: the performance of each person that is defined by his or her evaluation also plays an important role for talent retention within companies.

At the closing date of the study (updated as of July 30), the companies forecast an average annual adjustment of 40.87% for personnel covered by the collective bargaining agreement, who generally receive the adjustments in the months of April, July and September.

In the case of those who are not covered by the collective bargaining agreement, the average annual adjustment is 38.68%, who usually receive salary adjustments in January, May, and October.

ARE THERE ANY SALARY SUPPLEMENTS?

Sixty-nine percent of the companies pay additional to the fixed gross monthly remuneration, 59% pay guaranteed bonuses, 50% pay non-remunerative amounts, 43% provide bonuses, and 35% awards. In turn, 81% of the companies surveyed award prizes once a year.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Car: 48% of the participating companies have a defined policy related to the company car, car plans including provision and renewal, and cost of expenses such as license plate, insurance, fuel and maintenance.

Health: 73% of the companies surveyed have private health coverage for their employees according to their positions.

Cellular: 63% of the companies, if their role requires it, provide their employees with cellular phones with corporate plans. Although it used to be seen as a benefit, today it is considered a work tool. In most cases, plans tend to be unlimited.

Training: 44% of companies claim to have plans and budget for staff training. The pandemic caused a strong migration of training to virtual training; this may have generated extra expense because employees are also often sent catering on those specific days.

Academic training: Companies cover some costs for their employees according to positions, the highest positions can receive on average 86% coverage for a postgraduate degree, 94% coverage for a language, and for various courses 100%. However, employees can receive the same benefits, but with other percentages (for a postgraduate course an average coverage of 37% and for a language 75%).

Catering: 45% of the sample has a catering, lunch or canteen service for its employees. This benefit in many cases migrated to a virtual wallet for the purchase of food or delivery orders, ranging from $3000 to $10,000 per month.

Days off: As part of labor welfare, some companies started to implement one day off per semester per person, in other cases, they also add vacation days or grant extra days for paternity or maternity leave. On the other hand, work by objectives without ties to a structured schedule is a reality that is increasing, especially in companies that work remotely.

WHO PARTICIPATED?

302 companies of different profiles, among the percentages to highlight of this group are: 69% of the companies correspond to the area of CABA and province of Buenos Aires, 63% have a national capital origin, 40% have an annual turnover in pesos within the range of ARS 301 and ARS 800 million, 35% have an annual turnover of more than ARS 800 million pesos. Thirty percent of these companies are service companies, followed by light industry with 24%.

To download the Argentina 2022 Regional Salary Guide, click on: https://www.adecco.com.ar/guiasalarial-2022-2/

With information from La Nacion