Talent Deficit Hits 15 Year High in Mexico

Mexican business leaders face the highest talent deficit since World War II. Although inversely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s logistics and manufacturing industry sectors find themselves disproportionately affected, according to ManpowerGroup’s Employment Outlook Survey. 

Consistent with the nation’s robust economic recovery, unemployment has steadily declined, in some cases rebounding above pre-pandemic employment levels in various states, according to data from the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS).  This has happened in tandem to job creation that added 864,754 jobs over the last 12 months, representing an annual growth of 4.3 percent reports the agency.

These conditions have created an employee market where 74 percent of businesses have found it difficult to fill open positions. Demand from the operations and logistics industry “shows no signs of reverting back to pre-crisis levels as the shift to online retail is here to say,” the ManpowerGroup reports. On top of this, the sector has recently grappled with route disruptions including a three-month-long teachers’ blockade of a railway passage that is estimated to have incurred about MX$2 billion (US$96.5 million) in losses.

The manufacturing sector contracted during the pandemic limited by stringent health guidelines, outbreaks and chip shortages that forced business to shut down production intermittently. Now, as demand for products beings to pick up ahead of the holiday season, the sector is struggling to keep up with demand. Similarly, sales and marketing are the third most impacted sector in Mexico.

Growing industries such as administration, customer service, human resources and IT are also contending with labor shortages. Holistically, all domestic industries are “looking for the right blend of technical skills and human strengths” as companies adapt operations to the tech disruption that was accelerated over the past two years. What is presently unclear is if the labor market will be able to satisfy this desired consolidation.

Overall, this observation has demonstrated that Mexico is not immune to labor shortages presumedly reserved to mature economies. Additionally, as the labor market tightens companies will see themselves obligated to submit to at least some employee conditions, otherwise they risk limiting their own personal growth and competitiveness.