State-owned newcomers to receive 11.1% increase next month

Employees in the state of Neuquén will receive an 11.1% increase with April wages in what will be the first rise in 2019. The release yesterday of Indec's Consumer Price Index (CPI), Neuquén and Córdoba helped to figure out the automatic increase agreed with the government in February, which will affect some 60,000 employees of the administration.

Although the survey showed a lower figure for Neuquén than was measured in other parts of the country and even on a national average, the weighting agreed for three CPIs allowed the state to reach a higher figure. at a quarterly rate of 9.67% in the provincial capital.

Data from March in Neuquén revealed a rise in prices of goods and services in the basket of 2.69%, while that of Indec was up two points, with 4.7%, and that of Cordoba up to 3.71%.

In the last quarter of last year, the increase for state employees had been 11.81%, which accounted for 48.53% for the entire year of 2018 The average number was about three points lower than the measured inflation. in the capital Neuquén, which for the month of December was ranked second in the country behind Mendoza (53.7%).

The agreement was signed by the representatives of ATE, UPCN, ATEN and Viales and is extended to the police rankings. Lawmakers also agreed with the president of the chamber, Rolando Figueroa, to imitate the calculation. The next increase will come with July wages and average inflation in April, May and June. The mechanism will be repeated in the third and fourth quarters of the year.

The province uses the quarterly inflation-related increases for the third year in a row. When he began negotiations with the unions, in January of this year, the governor defended "the increase in wages corresponding to inflation to maintain the power of consumption and improve the quality of life of workers ".

According to the government, this strategy has made it possible to reach the "best agreement of the country" and to dialogue with the unions in a peaceful way and without losing school days, in a context close to the elections, like the months before March.

According to a study by the Argentine Institute of Tax Analysis (Iaraf), Neuquén is one of the few provinces able to badimilate the salaries of its employees to inflation compared to other jurisdictions such as Chubut, Misiones and Tierra del Fuego who lost between 13.8% and 12.5% ​​of annual purchasing power.

Concern of traders

A report on the economic situation prepared by the Neuquén Chamber of Commerce, Acipan, revealed little encouraging data for consumption in the first month of 2019.

As indicated, in the first month of 2019, actual sales in supermarkets fell by 11.3% compared to the same month in 2018 and the main declines were recorded in consumer durables, such as food and beverages. electronics and clothing, with losses of more than 20%. . Although food and beverages also declined, they declined to lower rates, around 8%.

The report says that Neuquén supermarket sales have deteriorated from August. Although the decline was lower in December, it returned to "more negative data in the first month of 2019."

Another negative variable that detected the
The investigation was the patenting of cars. During the three
During the first months of the year, the withdrawal of the
0 kilometer patented nationally and the province does
was free from falling. While in the country almost reached the
50%, almost 29% in Neuquén. Last year I had an average
a decrease of 3.2% compared to the national average that had been
10.8%