Nearly half a million jobs lost during the first quarter: Inegi

In the first three months of the year, 486,537 jobs were eliminated, both in the formal and informal sectors of the economy, the largest loss for a first quarter since 2023, according to data published Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

Despite this, the number of unemployed people decreased, from 1.842 million in the last three months of last year to 1.568 million in the first quarter of 2025, a decrease from the unemployment rate based on original figures of 2.57% to 2.46% of the economically active population.

This is explained by the reduction in the number of people in the labor market during this period, which is 564,000 fewer than the number reported in the immediately preceding period.

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Jobs eliminated in the formal economy totaled 138,000 in the first quarter , which contrasts with the 227,000 created during the same period, according to positions reported by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS). In this regard, it can be inferred that jobs were lost in other areas, such as government workers and the military.

Meanwhile, the informally employed population fell by 348,000 jobs, reaching 32 million. Despite this, it represents a significant burden on the labor market, with 54.3% of the employed population.

The southern and southeastern states had the highest levels of informality:

• Guerrero, with a rate of 76.5 percent.
• Oaxaca, 76.3 percent.
• Chiapas, 76.0 percent.

In contrast, Nuevo León reported a rate of 32.5%; Coahuila, 33.1%; Chihuahua, 33.6%; and Baja California, 37.2%.

"Among the movements in the Mexican labor market, we see that informality maintains its hold, covering more than half of the country's working population, which translates into a lack of labor benefits and social security," said Fernando Bermúdez, director of corporate relations at ManpowerGroup.

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By sectors, In the services sector, 240,000 jobs were eliminated during the period, followed by industry, with 113,000; the agricultural sector, with 100,000; and 33,000 fewer jobs in unspecified activities.

In detail, the activities that reported the largest reductions in their workforces in the first quarter of the year were miscellaneous services, with 188,000 jobs; manufacturing, with 142,000; and social services, with 132,000.

For its part, The activities that increased their workforce the most were professional, financial, and corporate services, with 66,000 positions; transportation, communications, mail, and warehousing, with 46,000; and the construction industry, with 43,000 positions.

*The data: The largest job loss in the quarter was in services, with 240,000 jobs.

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AO