Economic recovery still pending: 7 in 10 name the economy as their top problem

At the beginning of the year, Economy Minister Luis Caputo stated on repeated occasions that the “best 18 months” Argentina had seen in “recent decades would take place between May and June 2026. 

With only three months left until the end of the year, however, that economic bonanza is far from being reflected among the vast majority.

According to the latest public opinion poll conducted by consulting firm Management & Fit (M&F), more than 69% of respondents said that their personal problems are economic in nature. 

A breakdown of the numbers The difficulty in making ends meet remains the primary concern for individuals (22% of responses), while a decline in purchasing power came in second (17%).

In real terms, average registered salaries fell 3.4% since President Javier Milei took office in November 2023. 

Personal or family debt problems ranked fourth among personal issues (10%). Debt problems are a consequence of the increase in household delinquency, which reached record levels this year.

In July 2026, delinquency on credit to families within the financial system stood at 13%. According to data from the Center for Argentine Political Economy (CEPA, by its Spanish acronym), it was 2.5% in November 2024. 

That number is even higher when looking at delinquency on credit to families outside the financial system: it stood at 33.9% last July, whereas in November 2024 it was 7.3%.

Although those three concerns (difficulty making ends meet, decline in purchasing power, and debt) recorded a slight decrease compared to the last M&F poll conducted in July that was because mentions of lack of work (9.4%), difficulty renting (7.4%), and the insecurity of losing one’s job (4.5%) increased.

That concern does not arise from nothing. The unemployment rate rose from 6.2% in the second quarter of 2023 to 7.9% in the same period of 2026.

The study also found that more than 52% of families have difficulty covering expenses.

Broken down by gender, economic difficulty is more prevalent among women.If segmented by education level, these difficulties affect more people with a low level of education. If divided by age range, it is more common to see them in respondents over 40.

When asked what they consider to be the country’s main problem at this moment, almost 20% said that it is unemployment, taking first place in the ranking. In second place was the increase in public utility rates, with almost 19% of the total. Fifth was poverty, with more than 13%.

The situation has not gone unnoticed even by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

In her most recent press conference, IMF spokesperson Julie Kozak said that one topic the Fund has discussed with the Milei administration is ensuring that growth, which so far has been very much in the energy, mining, and agricultural sectors, broadens and becomes more evenly distributed across sectors in the economy, but also across workers.”