In February, Salta’s exceptional nature in the construction sector was confirmed, in a context of economic crisis and paralysis of public works. It was the only province where the activity had growth in employment and in the number of construction companies. A report published yesterday by the Institute of Statistics and Registration of the Construction Industry (Ieric) noted that while at a general level, in the country, formal employment in construction fell by 14.6% in the second month of the year Compared to the same period in 2023, in Salta there was a year-on-year increase of 9%.
Already in January, Salta construction was also the only one that presented an increase in the amount of labor in relation to December and was among the three districts with interannual improvements for that month (the others were Neuquén and La Pampa). In the rest of Argentina, January was a recessive month in this area.
Without a doubt, the particularity of Salta is explained by mining. As investments in works with national state funds disappear, the construction of infrastructure for the extraction of minerals in the Puna, fundamentally lithium, is practically the main source of employment for bricklayers. Private urban developments in the west of the capital must be added, although to a lesser extent.
The Salta mining boom even surpassed Neuquén, where the Vaca Muerta investment bubble is located, in terms of construction employment. In February, the Patagonian province maintained exactly the same number of workers as in the same month last year. The other districts had pronounced declines in the number of workers.
According to Ieric, there were 12,365 construction workers in Salta in February. A historic figure for that month.
The contribution of mining is given by the work of four lithium plants in the department of Los Andes, added to the buildings that are carried out in mining projects in other stages prior to production.
Companies
With a total of 496 contractors and subcontractors during March, Salta also recorded a year-on-year growth of 7.4% in the number of construction employers and became, for the first time, the province with the highest expansion rate in that area, thus surpassing to Catamarca.
Ieric data indicate that in March there were a total of 20,241 employers active in the construction industry, 8.3% less than in the same month of 2023. This marked a strong acceleration in the pace of interannual decline compared to 0. 7% in January and 2.3% in February.
The decline in companies was worse in the so-called large jurisdictions, such as Buenos Aires, where the number of employers fell by 12% year-on-year, while in the remaining locations the drop was 1.4%.
The average employment indicator in February stood at 13.6 jobs per construction firm, which meant a drop of 2% monthly and 12.7% year-on-year, according to information from the institute.
What’s coming
A warning sign, beyond the suspension of public works, is found in the constructions that are planned for the future. This situation can be observed through the surface that was enabled to build. The Ieric, with data from Indec, pointed out that last year, the permitted area in the capital of Salta fell by 19%, compared to 2022.
