Unemployment in February was 2.7%, one percentage point lower than 2022

Mexico’s unemployment rate hit a historic low of 2.7 per cent in February, based on the latest numbers coming out of its National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

The INEGI’s National Employment and Occupation Survey (ENOE), published on Friday shows that unemployment in February was a full percentage point lower than the same month in 2022, and 0.1 per cent lower than in January this year. Mexico’s unemployment rate has been steadily declining after spiking at the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic. 

Under-employment, which reflects the number of people who do not work enough hours is down to 7.4 per cent in February, compared to 9.2 per cent in February 2022. These figures come despite the fact that Mexico’s economically active population (of working age) grew by 1.7 million people in 2023.

Informal economy remains strong

It reached 60 million people in February 2023, of whom 58.3 million were actively employed. Employment in the informal economy remains strong.

The latest data shows that Informal labour made up 55.5 per cent of total employment in February 2023, a 0.9 per cent increase from February 2022. Notably, the proportion of men in informal employment dropped slightly during this period while the proportion of women in informal employment jumped from 53.7 per cent to 56.4 per cent in 2023.

The survey notes that although these informal figures include those working in subsistence agriculture, a similar trend was observed in non-agricultural informal employment, which rose from 28.5 per cent to 29 per cent overall, and from 28.1 per cent to 29.7 per cent for women. Of the 2.29 million people who started new jobs since February 2022, only 23 per cent entered the formal economy.

INEGI acknowledges that this is concerning given that those employed in the informal economy are more economically vulnerable and generally lack social security. Of those who found formal work, 60 per cent did so in the services sector, particularly in trade. 35.6 per cent entered the industrial sector, mostly in manufacturing, and the remainder took up work in the primary sector.

The latest employment data confirms that overall, the Mexican economy has maintained a steady recovery from the pandemic.