Blanco y negro

If you work in Argentina, you are just as likely as not to be an on-the-books employee.

Under-the-table employment is dropping, but it still stands at 43% of the workforce. That's down from 45.5% from the last quarter of 2006.

These (government-generated) numbers have been much closer to 50% in the past. So they're falling.

But can we agree that trabajo en negro (under-the-table employment) is difficult to track and easily underreported? Employers sure as hell aren't going to be volunteering their numbers to the government. Employees may feel they have little to gain by reporting their employer, trabajo en negro being better than no trabajo at all.

Oh, and I know, I know . . . Another snore of a government/politics/tax entry. Listen, not every day can be a walk in the park. But it was short, right? Plus, I am convinced this will make great cocktail party chatter, for you swells in the audience.