Buenos Aires, May 18 (RHC-teleSUR) – More than 154,000 workers have been fired or suspended since President Mauricio Macri took office in December 2015, according to a report by Argentina's Center for Political Economy (CEPA).

Center president Hernan Letcher  said massive layouts in various ministries and local governments were followed also by dismissals and suspensions in the private sector.

The Argentinean public sector's share of the economy has reportedly decreased from 43 to 39 percent, with the private sector rising from a 57 to a 61 percent share between March and April.

Yet, Argentina's big company heads continue to deny the wave of mass layoffs in the private sector, and are critical of a bill currently being debated in Congress seeking to provide a “state of labor emergency” and prohibit dismissals for 180 days.

Center for Political Economy president Hernan Letcher considers that the worst is yet to come, noting that the impact of the Macri government’s policy of opening up imports has yet to be felt on labor and will mostly affect workers of small- and medium-size companies.