Mexico Loses Over 1 Million Jobs in November

Mexico’s labor market recorded a sharp contraction in November, with the loss of 1,058,179 jobs, largely concentrated in the informal sector and affecting predominantly women, according to INEGI. While the official unemployment rate remained low at 2.7%, broader measures of underemployment and labor inactivity suggest more extensive weakness.

Janneth Quiroz, Director of Economic, Currency, and Stock Analysis, Monex, said the low headline unemployment masks a declining labor force, as cited by El Economista. “The rate of unemployment remains low because labor participation fell from 59.9% in October to 58.9% in November,” she noted. Considering discouraged workers available for employment, the extended unemployment rate rose to 10.7%, up from 10.1% the previous month.

The November figures mark the second-largest monthly employment decline of 2025, leaving cumulative job creation for the year at just over half a million positions. Service-related industries, including special services, restaurants, and hotels, recorded the largest employment reductions. In the formal sector, however, 46,510 positions were created, partially offset by the loss of 1,104,689 informal jobs, resulting in a decrease in the overall informality rate from 55.7% to 54.8%.

The impact was highly gendered: women accounted for 94.1% of jobs lost, or 996,061 positions, compared with 5.2% for men (62,118 jobs). Women’s labor participation dropped to 45.1%, while men’s fell to 74.6%, both reflecting annual declines of 1.6 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively.

The November data follow a year marked by continued reliance on informal and independent employment channels. INEGI reported that in the first half of 2025, Mexico added 848,494 new jobs, with more than 1.13 million positions created in the informal sector, while formal employment decreased by 278,470 jobs. Self-employment accounted for a significant share of the gains, with 673,991 individuals entering independent work, the highest figure since 2021.

These structural shifts underscore the ongoing challenges in formal job creation. Service sectors now employ 63.5% of the workforce, followed by commerce at 19.2%, industry at 17.3%, and agriculture at 9.6%. Microenterprises support 32.4 million workers, while 14.4 million are self-employed and 2.5 million are unpaid workers.

“The results of November reinforce signals of gradual labor market moderation toward the end of 2025, consistent with the year’s low economic growth,” added Quiroz. Analysts suggest that, unless formal job creation accelerates, informal employment will remain a key buffer for overall labor market stability.