The Observatory's report on formal employment traveled the country: more than 60 repercussions in press, radio and television from 17 provinces.

On August 8, 2026, the UNR Economic and Social Observatory published the report " Argentine Labor Formality: A Credible Alternative History ," with a fundamental novelty: a series of almost ten years that measures the labor informality of all employed people, including the self-employed, and not only that of salaried workers, as was done until a year ago.

In the following three weeks, the work was featured on the front page of the newspaper La Capital , reached the main national media outlets, was replicated on portals in 17 provinces and prompted nine radio interviews in Rosario, Buenos Aires and Córdoba.

The map summarizes that journey: the coverage originated in Rosario, jumped to national media, and from there bounced off portals throughout the country.

Map of Argentina showing the number of media outlets that covered the report on informal employment, by province
Media outlets and programs that covered the report, by province where each is published. The magenta dot represents Rosario, where the report originated. (Source: Author's own work)

🗺️ Informal employment, from Rosario to the whole country

Santa Fe leads the count with 14 media outlets and programs, followed by the City of Buenos Aires with 13. Next are Tucumán, the province of Buenos Aires, Entre Ríos, Córdoba, Chubut, La Rioja, Santa Cruz, Catamarca, Corrientes, Jujuy, Mendoza, Misiones, Río Negro, Salta, and San Juan. Among the national media outlets that picked up the report were Clarín , La Nación , Ámbito , El Destape , Tiempo Argentino , La Prensa , Radio Continental , and the Noticias Argentinas news agency , among others.

🗞️ The cover of La Capital

On Saturday, August 8, the report was the main front-page story of La Capital , Rosario's most widely circulated newspaper, with the chapter dedicated to Greater Rosario: a formality rate of 59,1% in Q1 2026, above the national average, and self-employment that went from 22,3% to 27,7% of local workers.

Front page of the La Capital newspaper on Saturday, August 8, 2026, with the Observatory's report on formal employment as the main story
The front page of La Capital on Saturday, August 8, 2026.

📌 Read the full article from La Capital

🎙️ On radio and television

The Observatory team presented the report on radio programs in Rosario, Buenos Aires, and Córdoba:

  • 🎙️ The first one of the morning (LT8 AM 830, Rosario), with Guillermo Zysman
  • 🎙️ The day is after (Radio UNR FM 103.3), with Diego Fiori and Lisandro Leoni
  • 🎙️ The First One of the Afternoon (Radio 2, AM 1230 / FM 90.1, Rosario), with Sergio Roulier
  • 🎙️ Cradle of the News (FM WOX 88.3, ​​Rosario), with Antonio Abbatemarco
  • 🎙️ Life is hell (Radio with Vos Rosario, 107.5), with Lisandro Cavatorta
  • 🎙️ The morning (AM 750), with Víctor Hugo Morales
  • 🎙️ Transcendental (LT8 AM 830, Rosario), with José Maggi
  • 🎙️ News Airs (Radio Mitre Córdoba, AM 810 / FM 97.9), with Eduardo Andere and Mariano Nievas
  • 🎙️ Opening Air (Radio Fisherton, FM 89.5, Rosario), with Fernando Alonso
  • 📺 Telefe Rosario y UNR Radio, with my own notes

🔊 Two talks to listen to

In Aire de Apertura , the conversation with Fernando Alonso lasted for more than half an hour and covered the entire report, from the diagnosis to the estimation method behind the series.

🔊 Listen to the full interview (31 minutes, via RadioCut)

And on AM 750's morning show , the report was discussed by Víctor Hugo Morales, focusing on young people and self-employment.

🔊 Listen to the clip (4 minutes, via RadioCut)

📰 In the national media

🌐 From north to south

The report was also replicated in the specialized press on labor (Motor Económico, InfoGremiales, Línea Sindical, De Gremiales, Gestión Sindical) and in portals of Catamarca, Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán, La Rioja, San Juan, Mendoza, Córdoba, Entre Ríos, Misiones, Corrientes, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Chubut and Santa Cruz, including El Ancasti , La Gaceta , El Submarino and El Diario Nuevo Día.

📊 What data circulated

  • 📊 Informality of employed people in Q1 2026: 44,2 %, according to the official measurement of INDEC which since 4T2024 includes all employed people, and which the Observatory series extends backwards.
  • ⚖️ The contrast by category: the informality of self-employment (65,3 %) almost doubles that of salaried workers (37,9 %).
  • 🏠 The relationship with poverty: in Q4 2025, the 34,3 % of the informally employed living in a poor household, against the 10,0 % of the formal ones.
  • 📈 The two trends that only this series allows us to see: the feminization of self-employment (from 34,1% in Q4 2016 to 41,5 % in Q1 2026) and the fall in youth formality (from 43,5% to 34,8 % between Q4 2016 and Q3 2025).

📄 Access the report

Economic and Social Observatory Universidad Nacional de Rosario · observatorioeconsocial@unr.edu.ar · August 18, 2026