Job Recovery Faltering, Slow Return to Office: The Week in Talent

This week's employment recovery data did not bode well. While unemployment withdrawals showed an increase of 15.4 percent in the first half of 2021 compared to the same period last year, a preliminary report by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) showed that cities reliant on a large service industry are still underperforming. Meanwhile, the return to the office seems ever closer for all workers, who are reluctant to go back to a full-time model and claim to prefer an hybrid one.

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• Mexico had an economic downturn driven by climate-related disasters, a UN report showed this week. The report states that for Mexico to transform its food systems, the country needs to develop an inter-sectoral approach. The UN also claims that dialogue and advocacy are essential to generate political commitment and broad support for the transformation of the country’s food systems. The report acknowledges that Mexico is making efforts to face the current crisis thanks to its “community-based forest management project designed to address and overcome problems linked to deforestation and forest degradation in rural communities of marginalized forest areas in Campeche, Chiapas and Oaxaca.” Get the full picture here.

• Although the Mexican economy showed signs of recovery in May, reporting growth of almost 25 percent compared to last year, cities reliant on a large service industry are still underperforming. A preliminary report by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI) and the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS) points to 15 consecutive months of employment loss. This is particularly important for the overall economy considering that Mexico City, heavily reliant on the service sector, provides 16 percent of the total jobs registered with IMSS. Read the complete article here.

• Initial jobless claims in the US reached 360,000 in the week ending in July 10, a new all-time low since the start of the pandemic. Data released Thursday by the Labor Department showed a 26,000 drop in claims from the previous week. “The economy is expanding rapidly now as COVID-19 infections drop and companies are getting the green light to expand face-to-face activities. To meet that demand, companies need to recruit workers,” Chief Economist of Nationwide Mutual Insurance David Berson told The Wall Street Journal.

• Meanwhile, in Mexico, about 4 million unemployment withdrawals have been registered so far during the current administration, Abraham Vela Dib, President of the National Commission of the Retirement Savings System (CONSAR), told at a press conference on Wednesday. In the 1H2021 alone, 938,986 workers have withdrawn funds from their retirement savings, 15.4 percent more than during the same period last year. "People have made these withdrawals to survive due to the impact of the pandemic on employment”, said Vela Dib.

• What has been the process of the outsourcing reform? On April 23, Mexican labor law changed to prohibit outsourcing or subcontracting. The reform was meant to avoid abuses and violations of workers' rights, as well as tax and profit evasion by businesses. Two months after the reform was approved, Mexico’s business sector keeps adapting to its changes. Read the article here.
   

• Now that 37 percent of Mexico’s adult population has been vaccinated, businesses and offices are beginning to open up and are asking their employees to come back. According to the Best Practice Institute, 83 percent of business executives want employees to return to the office permanently while only 10 percent of employees wish to return full time. Employees all over the world are now pushing back on a full return to the office for various reasons ranging from long commute times to flexible work hours. Want to know more? Click here.