\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t Workers in the Argentine gig economy have been growing steadily over the past year due to a decline in formal employment. Based on estimates from the App-Based Workers Union (Sitrarepa, for its Spanish acronym), there are close to 1 million people working in the sector.<\/p>\n
According to official data from the Superintendency of Occupational Risks, the government agency responsible for regulating workplace safety, approximately 339,000 formal jobs have been lost since President Milei came into office in December 2023.\u00a0<\/p>\n
People who need a new job aren\u2019t the only ones flocking to delivery and ride-hailing apps. They\u2019re also used by those looking to supplement their income, given the decline in the purchasing power of wages. Private-sector wages are 4.8% below their November 2023 level, while public-sector wages are 17% lower, according to the Argentine Institute for Fiscal Analysis (IARAF).\u00a0<\/p>\n
A series of recent data points, however, indicate that these apps\u2019 capacity to absorb labor may be reaching its limit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Milei is banking on massive investments in energy and mining to generate a \u201ctrickle-down\u201d effect for other sectors of the economy. If the gig economy functions as a sort of intermediate stage, saturation raises questions about the viability of the government\u2019s economic plan to generate quality jobs in a timely manner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How many Argentines work in the gig economy? Delivery apps \u2014 led by PedidosYa and Rappi \u2014 and ride-hailing apps like Uber, Cabify, and DiDi employ the largest number of workers in the platform economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It is difficult, however, to pinpoint an exact number due to the different ways these companies count their users.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cabify told the Herald that it has approximately 40,000 registered drivers across the country. That number has been growing at an average rate of 25% since last year. DiDi reported that more than 500,000 car and motorcycle drivers use their platform, a 48% year-over-year growth compared to 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n
According to 2025 data for Buenos Aires City that Uber shared with the Herald, more than 350,000 people used their app the past year.<\/p>\n
In the food delivery sector, PedidosYa registered 64,000 active delivery drivers in May of this year. In late 2025, Rappi reported that 151,874 people had completed at least one order that year, a 252% year-over-year increase.<\/p>\n
The most comprehensive figure, however, is the Sitrarepa estimate of 1 million people working in the sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbout 700,000 are transporting people, and 300,000 are delivering food,\u201d union general secretary, Bel\u00e9n D\u2019Ambrosio, told the Herald.<\/p>\n
Is there room for everyone? D\u2019Ambrosio (34) once held three jobs, but in March she was laid off from one of them. She currently teaches and works as a delivery driver.\u00a0The earnings per order she used to make, however, are not what they used to be.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes we carry orders worth AR$60,000 [US$42 at the official exchange rate] and end up with just AR$2,000 [US$1.4],\u201d she explained. D\u2019Ambrosio also criticized the way apps determine how much they pay for orders, calling it \u201carbitrary and opaque.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to economist and head of consulting firm Vectorial Haroldo Montagu, the gig economy could \u201ctheoretically\u201d absorb workers as long as platforms keep taking on new users.\u00a0The continuous growth, however, means less income for workers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDemand lagged far behind supply, which led platforms to increase their commissions [thereby reducing drivers\u2019 earnings per trip] and seek alternatives, such as Uber\u2019s campaign to promote short trips,\u201d he told the Herald.<\/p>\n
CONICET economic researcher Mariana Gonz\u00e1lez says there are already signs that the gig economy\u2019s absorption pace is slowing down.<\/p>\n
She highlighted three \u201cproxy\u201d indicators. The first was the rise in informal employment, up to 43% according to official data from the last quarter of 2025. In the same period of 2024, the figure was 42%.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second was the rise in informal self-employment, up from 62.4% in 2024 to 63.3%. Added to this is the increase in other forms of work, such as the tax regime for self-employed workers known as monotributo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can also be understood as a sign that the mechanisms for absorbing the labor force through what is called \u2018refuge employment,\u2019 activities that workers turn to in the face of formal job loss, are reaching their limits,\u201d Gonz\u00e1lez argued.<\/p>\n
Center-right think tank Fundaci\u00f3n Mediterr\u00e1nea also provided another data point. Motorcycle registrations had been showing record growth between January and April, with a 25% increase since the start of the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last month, however, they registered a 16.9% drop, a potential sign of the platform economies\u2019 \u201climit\u201d to add new workers.<\/p>\n
Change that is here to stay For former production minister and head of consulting firm ABECEB, Dante Sica, the steady influx of gig economy workers is a global phenomenon.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What\u2019s happening in Argentina, he argued, is that this trend arrived later than other places.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are new forms of work that, because they have fewer barriers than formal employment did a few decades ago, quickly create opportunities to earn income, which also changes the concept and dynamics of unemployment,\u201d he told the Herald.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The current scenario, he added, is \u201cjust the beginning of the expansion of platform-based employment,\u201d highlighting the importance of e-commerce for the sector\u2019s continued growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cArgentina still has a low level of e-commerce, and much of it relies on last-mile logistics systems that are often supplied by the platform economies themselves,\u201d he noted. He acknowledged the possibility that some activities might experience \u201csaturation peaks\u201d but expressed skepticism that this would reduce income levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA balance will eventually be reached, and those jobs will shift to other activities,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
D\u2019Ambrosio did not share his optimism, pointing to the setback that the labor reform passed in late February represents. The legislation established that platform workers are independent contractors, exempting companies from formal labor obligations.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNew technologies are being used as an excuse to drag us back to slavery in terms of social and labor rights,\u201d she argued.<\/p>\n
Among the examples of precarious working conditions, she confirmed that account rental on delivery apps, something explicitly banned in platforms\u2019 policies, does take place.<\/p>\n
In some cases, it happens because delivery workers have had their accounts blocked, a situation D\u2019Ambrosio described as a \u201ccovert dismissal.\u201d Other cases can involve immigrants who lack the necessary Argentine documentation or underage workers who use borrowed accounts to help supplement household income.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cover photo credit: Mart Production\/Pexels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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