While the unemployment rate in Mexico has reached its lowest level since records began, with a rate of 2.5 percent at the end of the first quarter of 2024, critical employment conditions have escalated to 34.3 percent. This is the highest level published by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi). Although there has been a reduction in the unemployment rate compared to the previous year, it is still the lowest proportion since 2005 when the National Employment Survey began.
Despite this progress, gender gaps in the Mexican labor market persist. At the end of the first quarter of 2024, there were 1,542,215 unemployed people in Mexico, with men totaling 874 thousand and women 668 thousand actively looking for work. The unemployment rate for men was 2.4 percent while that for women was higher at 2.7 percent.
Unemployment may be at its lowest level but critical occupancy conditions remain high with one in three workers in Mexico working less than 35 hours a week for various reasons. The rate of critical occupancy conditions has increased from last year to reach its highest level in two decades.
In addition to these challenges, Inegi also reported that despite improvements in overall employment data, significant disparities exist between different regions and demographics. For instance, data for Guerrero could not be fully collected due to a hurricane while Acapulco experienced an increase in unemployment despite a lower proportion of people being active in the labor market.
Overall, while progress has been made towards reducing unemployment rates in Mexico, there are still many obstacles that need to be addressed such as high levels of critical occupancy conditions and persistent gender gaps within the labor market.
