Over 3.7 Million Minors in Mexico Engage in Child Labor: INEGI

Over 3.7 million children and adolescents between the ages of five and 17 were engaged in child labor in 2022, with a significant portion involved in hazardous or unauthorized work, reveals Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI).

To mark the World Day Against Child Labor, observed annually on June 12, INEGI released findings from its 2022 National Child Labor Survey (ENTI). The report provides a detailed profile of the child labor situation in Mexico, identifying 13.1% of the country’s 28.4 million children aged five to 17 as engaged in some form of labor that is either legally prohibited or deemed harmful to their development.

In recent years, growing poverty caused by conflicts, global crises, and the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant rise in child labour. This type of work includes tasks that are harmful to a child’s physical or mental well-being, involve long hours, or are carried out by children who are too young, reports the ILO.

Child labour can cause chronic illnesses, malnutrition, injuries from unsafe tools, and even lead to abuse. Emotionally, working in hostile environments and being away from family support can lead to stress, low self-esteem, and lost hope, especially when children must give up school or balance it with long work hours.

According to the ENTI, in 2022 in Mexico, of the 3.7 million children in child labor, 60.2% were boys and 39.8% girls. The majority, 48.9%, were aged 15 to 17. Children aged 10 to 14 accounted for 40.4%, while 10.8% were as young as five to nine years old. The data also shows that among younger age groups, the share of girls involved was slightly higher than boys.

Nearly 57.1% of all children in child labor were engaged in work not permitted under Mexican law, including hazardous tasks or employment under the legal minimum age of 15. Of those, over half worked in dangerous conditions, such as late-night shifts, exposure to harmful substances, or physically demanding environments, as defined under Article 175 of the Federal Labor Law.

By type of activity, 48.6% of these minors were engaged solely in unauthorized employment, while 42.9% performed domestic chores under unsafe conditions. Another 8.5% were involved in both. Gender disparities were also noted: boys more often worked in prohibited occupations , while girls were more likely to be engaged in unsafe domestic work.

Child labor was found across different household types. About 53.5% of affected minors lived in nuclear households, 33% in extended or composite families, and 13.4% in single-parent homes. Just 0.1% lived in households with no family ties.

Thirty-three percent of children in unauthorized employment worked in agriculture, followed by 23.2% in services, 21.5% in commerce, 12.5% in industry, and 7% in construction. Boys were more concentrated in agriculture and construction, while girls were more active in commerce and services.