In midyear 70 percent of employed people in Argentina were earning less than 550,000 pesos a month (around US$564 at the official exchange rate), according to data from the INDEC national statistics bureau.
A further 70 percent of households were making up to 950,000 pesos a month, according to a report by the government statistics body.
At the end of June, the Total Basic Shopping-Basket, which marks the threshold beneath which a household falls below the poverty line, measured 873,168 pesos for a couple with two children aged eight and six. The Basic Food Basket, marking the threshold for destitution, stood at 393,319 pesos for the same family group.
INDEC data published last month revealed that Argentina’s poverty rate rose to 52.9 percent at the end of the first half of this year, up from 41.7 percent at the close of 2023 and almost 13 points above the 40.1 percent in the first half of that year.
Destitution, or extreme poverty, understood as those whose earnings do not suffice to buy the minimal quantity of food for subsistence, rose to 18.1 percent percent from the 11.9 percent at the close of 2023, almost doubling the 9.3 percent for the first half of last year.
Richest 20%
According to INDEC, a family making over 1.2 million pesos belongs to the “richest” 20 percent of society.
Households headed by males had an average monthly income of 532,370 pesos while those headed by females averaged 386,928 pesos, said the bureau.
Amid this panorama, income inequality increased beyond gender. The Gini coefficient, with 1 marking the maximum inequality and 0 absolute equality, finished the second quarter on 0.436 points when measuring per capita family income when it had been 0.417 points for the same quarter last year.
– TIMES/NA
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