The Ministry of Labor has revealed alarming data regarding the purchasing power of workers in Uruguay. According to the official report, more than half a million employees have seen reduced its purchasing power since July 2020.
The study indicates that, although the 40.5% of private workers have experienced improvements in their purchasing power, the rest have suffered losses significant in their income. Especially affected are those employees who work in stores, supermarkets, security companies and financial services.
The report details that workers in the meat processing industry, metallurgy, IT and the dairy sector are some of the few sectors that have experienced improvements in their purchasing power. However, other sectors such as transport, hotel and gastronomy, tannery, footwear and clothing have suffered heavy losses, with more than a third of workers experiencing a decrease in their purchasing power of more than 2.6%.
Worrying situation
It is worrisome that almost 20% of workers registered increases in their purchasing power of less than 1%, which suggests a significant wage gap.
In addition, the report reveals that the majority of workers affected by the loss of purchasing power are low-income, which suggests a greater inequality in the distribution of income in the country.
The situation is particularly pressing in a complex global inflationary context, which has especially affected the most vulnerable sectors of society.
