Impacto laboral y económico de la pandemia por Covid-19 sobre la población migrante en Argentina

Abstract

This article aims to analyze how the Covid-19 health crisis and State measures to deal with the pandemic impacted the labor integration of the migrant population in Argentina during 2020. For this purpose, it focuses on the forms of access to the labor market by this social group, before and during the health crisis, and the interrelation with other key variables such as length of residence and legal status. The findings presented are based on the analysis of various primary and secondary sources (such as the First National Migrant Survey of Argentina 2020 and the Permanent Household Survey 2018-2020), along with technical reports prepared by international organizations, data published by State agencies, requests for public information and regulatory documents that support public policy on the issues analyzed. The study reveals that the precarious conditions that structurally characterize the employment of a large part of this population in Argentina were quickly exacerbated, limiting their chances of personal and family well-being. Likewise, it also highlights that, due to a historical deficiency regarding the global application of social security policies, State measures for socio-economic containment, aimed at cushioning the impact (of the pandemic) on the most vulnerable sectors, systematically excluded a large portion of the migrant population that needed such support